My idea for the humanities capstone project is to create a light painting of a tree. I particularly like the way that flowery trees look. I have been thinking than I can add flowers to a tree with light painting, paint a whole tree, or make an animation of a tree growing from a sapling. The project I choose will likely come down to how much I can complete within the short WPI term. One artist question I have is, do you know any good nature or scenery spots in MA that I can take advantage of?
I tested making light paintings with my iPhone. I produced an image, but it wasn’t bright enough. This is because I didn’t mess with the ISO and noise settings. I also didn’t have my iPhone tripod on me. Either way, an actual professional camera would be better suited to this task.
I like the way the flowers from these trees hang down like vines. If I decide I have enough time for an animation, a looping gif of the flowers blowing around in the air would be a cool idea.
I would also enjoy making an animation like the one above, although its the most ambitious of my ideas. To correctly go through the seasons while showcasing a real tree, I would need to find one with no leaves. At the time of writing, it is August, so I’d have to find a dead tree. My favorite idea for an animation is having a tree grow from a seed in a “timelapse”. Although it may be difficult to add a sense of time passing. Proceeding with the light painting maquette will help me get a good idea of what is possible for the scope of this project.
I like the idea of using light painting to show the lifecycle of a tree, and although that may be complicated, it could produce a really cool final image or video. Western Massachusetts has a scenery you could use to create your light painting. If you have not already purchased a bright LED light that can change colors, you might want to, as that brighter LED might be captured easier in a long exposure picture and help create variety in the painting. If you create a stop motion video of your light paintings, do you know what video editing tools you would use to produce the video?
I think it was a really good idea to test out the light painting on your phone. It’ll give you an idea of how easy or hard it can be. I think before you do the real thing, it would be a good idea to do a few more tests with an actual camera.
I don’t know if it’s on iPhone, but I know that at least on Android, Google Camera has a mode that’s specifically meant for low-light long exposure shots. It will stabilise the photo for you, as well as take a long exposure shot. If the iPhone has this available on the app stoe, it may be worth looking into. Also, what are you using as your source of light? If you use a standalone camera, maychance your phone’s flashlight would be bright enough? For colours, you can use bits of coloured cellophane, maybe.
Location ideas-
Old stone church, West Boylston
Wachusett Reservoir dam, Clinton
Train tunnel, Clinton
Bancroft tower, Worcester
Cascading waters, Worcester
Doane’s Falls, Royalston
Lookout Rock, Northbridge