Light Painting

Light painting is a photographic technique in which exposures are made by moving a hand-held light source while taking a long exposure photograph, either to illuminate a subject or to shine a point of light directly at the camera, or by moving the camera itself during exposure.


For this series of images I placed my camera on a tripod and set it for a long shutter speed. I then used the torch on my phone to trace shapes such as my laptop, a freehand heart and the letter F. I also experimented with other light sources such as a set of fairy lights.

Artist Copy - Jonathan Bielaski

This photo was captured by Jonathan Bielaski. This is an environmental portrait of  a farmer. 

This is my emulation of the Jonathan Bielaski image of a farmer. The image retains the key horizontal metal bar feature of the original, along with the farmer being dressed in denim top and a cream hat. The final chosen image from the contact sheet is the one with the most similar head tilt and faraway gaze to the original. I am particularly pleased that despite a lack of natural light in the background, I was able to capture the some textures and features that confirm the image was taken on a working farm. 

Emulation Plan

The environmental portrait artist I am looking to emulate is Jonathan Bielaski. He says of his work, “People have a story as well as their space, together they complete a visual story and you can capture who they are and what they do in a signal frame.”

Bielaski’s images may have been taken in completely different environments, but they share three key features: the subject is ‘at home’ in his surroundings and is the focus of the image. Meanwhile, his background places him in the context of his environment so it is immediately obvious that the first is a farmer, the second makes guitars and the third is a butcher.

I have taken Bielaski’s shot of a farmer. This image has a blurred background of cows to the right, you can just make out their shape and distinctive black and white colours. You can see the image has been taken inside a agricultural shed and has many metal cubicles. In the foreground to the right, there is a farmer dressed in denim wearing a cream hat. He is leaning onto one of the metal bars separating the cubicles. This is a full-colour image.

The bottom image shows my drawing of the key features of the image. When I emulate this image, I will retain the metal bar he is leaning but local circumstances mean that there won’t be any cubicles and the background may be darker due to the minimal light from inside the shed. The farmer will, however, be wearing denim and a cream hat just like in the original image. The only equipment I will need equipment for the shoot on the 16th of November 2016 is my camera.

My Emulation

This image has a blurred background of cows to the right, you can just make out their shape and distinctive black and white colours. You can see the image has even taken inside a agricultural shed and has many metal cubicles. In the foreground to the right there is a farmer dressed in denim wearing a cream hat. He is leaning onto one of the metal bars separating the cubicles. This is a full colour image.

When i emulate this image i will keep the metal bar he is leaning on the same but there wont be any cubicles and the background will be mostly black due to minimal light from inside the shed. The farmer will be wearing denim and a cream hat just like the original image. I wont need any equipment for the shoot that will take place on the 16th of November, except my camera.

Component One Introduction

I have chosen to explore environmental portraits. Environmental portraits are a very involved type of portraiture; it is often a process involving an interview, getting to know the person a bit, and then applying creativity to the scene.

The perfect environmental portrait is a portrait that tells a story, and reveals something about the person in the portrait without the use of words. The background and foreground are just as important as the subject in telling the story but they are the supporting cast and the person is the lead role. On their own they could make good images but together they make a great image.

I created a Pinterest board to show different examples of environmental portraits. This board shows different photographers and different environments.

These photos are by Jonathan Bielaski.