APAD 11: Nervous energy

"Official Major League Baseball light painted Thursday, April 3, 2008"

I'm a little anxious to get opening day under way but can you blame me? I was pretty busy today and only made a few average frames so I decided to shoot something actually relevant to baseball. I've been eager to do some light painting, more so on the large, outdoor scale but this will work for now. To be honest this isn't the greatest attempt at it but to quote Kelley it's "dark and twisty" and that's why I like it (I guess I'll find out if she's reading this or not, ha). I really like how the ball appears to almost come out of a black hole. This isn't something you can accomplish with strobes. It's different and in the realm of photography different is always good.

For those of you who may not be aware of this technique let me explain. Light painting requires a long exposure (>10 seconds) and nearly, if not, complete darkness. The shutter is open for a significant about of time and that allows me to use a very small flashlight to actually paint with as though I had a brush in my hand. The more light I paint on a particular area the brighter it will be. It is essentially a trial and error process which makes it fun because you can do it until you get it right. 

My nervous energy has begun to subside and I really do need to get a good night's rest because tomorrow is going to long day. I have to meet Trevor at the office at 10 but not before stopping to pick up the 400 f/2.8 that I'm renting for the weekend at Camren Photographic. It's going to be an outstanding experience and I can't wait for it all to start. 

-JCE