Light Painting - pressofAtlanticCity.com: Blog: A Photographer's View

Light Painting

Nastassia Davis is a talented and creative fellow-photographer that is using her art to benefit young people. The commercial, wedding and sometimes news photographer for The Press of Atlantic City, lives in Atlantic City. For the second year, Nastassia conducted a workshop for young people at the Atlantic City library that uses photography, specifically light painting, as a vehicle to bolster self-esteem. “They were to think about positive words to inspire or characteristics they felt described themselves best,” she wrote in her blog to describe the workshop. If you’re not familiar with painting with light it’s a process I always associate with the great photographs of artist Pablo Picasso made by Gjon Mili for Life Magazine in 1949. In a darkened room a camera is set on a tripod and the shutter opened. The subject uses a small light source, like a flashlight, and draws in the darkness. The results can range from wildly abstract forms to swirls and streaks to letters drawn by the light. I experimented with it when I was studying photography and saw the images of Picasso. It’s fun and can be wildly creative. I dabbled with it using film and had to wait to see the results after the film was processed. With digital photography we now have the ability to see the results immediately. It’s great seeing an artist like Nastassia volunteering and donating her talents in such a rewarding way. Check out her blog at http://nastassiadavis.wordpress.com.

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Nastassia Davis

Light painting

A Photographer's View

Vernon Ogrodnek
Photographer
The Press of Atlantic City
E-mail: vogrodnek@pressofac.com
Phone: 609-272-7222
Vernon Ogrodnek is the photography and multimedia editor at The Press of Atlantic City. He has been a staff photojournalist for more than 35 years, the last 25 years at The Press. The National Press Photographer’s Association, the New Jersey Press Association and other organizations have recognized him for his work. He was selected New Jersey Photographer of the Year two times. Over the last few years, multimedia has also been a focus including video, audio, audio slideshows, and 360-degree imagery. His approach to photography can be summed up in the words of Ansel Adams: “ You don’t take a photograph, you make it.”
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