What could be funner?
Light painting with my students at Bannack Ghost Town!
One of my favorite places on the planet to photograph is Bannack Ghost Town, near Dillon, Montana. This was my first experience light painting at Bannack! I take my Comm 300 Digital Imaging students there every semester and we have a blast photographing the town! We always take a group of models to recreate the old west flavor. This time we were fortunate enough to get some light paintings after sunset and it just added to the ghost town effect to see things at night. I love the way the Montana State Park system has preserved the rich history of this place. The park rangers are amazing and they keep everything is authentic conditions for everyone to enjoy. You should visit Bannack for Bannack Days in July each year. It is a blast! Here is a link to the Bannack Ghost Town website: http://bannack.org/ I would love to hear what you think of these images I took Thursday night along the old main street of Bannack. I used a tripod and slow shutter speed of 15 – 30 seconds, while I painted light on the scene with some large spotlights. Isn’t this a great place? If you are interested in light painting, you can view more here: https://carynesplin.com/light-painting/
And here is a light painting tutorial to get you started with some indoor table top light painting of your own: https://carynesplin.com/table-top-light-painting-in-10-steps/
Furthermore, you should check out Dave Black’s light painting here: http://www.daveblackphotography.com/creative-lighting-portfolio
Several money shots right here. It was such a wonderful experience to stay and light paint Bannack Ghost Town. My favorite image has to be the last one. What a terrific combo, stars and ghost town.
Thanks, AJ! It is good to know which you like best. It was fun to get the stars and the light painting all in one shot. Because I used such a high ISO, the light painting had to be very short bursts.
Actually, I like them all. The Masonic Temple looks cool with the moon and I like the blues in the other two shots. I’m excited to go back in a few weeks with my family. 🙂
I LOVE these! You are awesome!
CARYN!! Great photos of Bannack at night! Seriously! Gives a whole new feeling to the town. Almost as if it has a bustling night life. Makes me very nostalgic right now… Thanks for sharing!
It is a privilege to hear from you, Dustin! Thanks for your comment and I am glad you like the images. I have always wanted to light paint at Bannack. I mean serious light painting… not just the 20 minute job because we had to leave by 10pm. This was a blast and I thought of you.. how you would have liked staying later to get the good stuff. 🙂
These are all really amazing Sister Esplin! I love the first two images how the details of the buildings are brought out nicely by the light(s). I love looking through your pictures on your blog and it makes me super excited for Fall 2013! Also loving my new camera, I’ve taken a few good pictures even though I’m still not sure exactly what I’m doing! lol. I’ll have to try a light painting setup in my apartment. 🙂
Thanks for the comment, Brent! You will learn to use your DSLR camera in Comm 300 this fall. In the meantime, there are a lot of free instructions on the Internet, or you can go through your owner’s manual. Or just have fun and take lots of shots in the Auto mode, or P (program) mode, which is fully automatic, but allows you to override a few things, like you can pop up the fill flash on your own. Have fun and see you in class this Fall!
Thanks, Brent! Here is a tutorial on light painting you can do in your apartment: https://carynesplin.com/table-top-light-painting-in-10-steps/
I am glad you will be in Comm 300 this fall!
I am a huge fan of the blues in the sky in the first image. I can’t believe that it was so late and you got such great color in the sky. I also absolutely love the last image. Each of these photos have a great contrast, which really leads your eye to the subject. I get inspired by looking at your photos and all I want to do is figure out how you made these photos happen. Amazing!
Thanks for the feedback, Corinne! I think you do great work, so I take that as a compliment. 🙂
I love how these came out. I’m excited for you to see how my photos came out. I did change some settings on my camera from the group and I really liked how they came out.
I can’t wait to see your Bannack pics! Thanks for the comment 🙂
I love how these shots turned out! I think with some more direction I would have liked light painting a little more because I think they turn out great. I love the picture with the stars. You can’t get a better picture than that. Great work Sister Esplin!
If you get the chance to take Comm 316 Pro Imaging we do more with hands on light painting on our weekend photo excursions. It you don’t take that class, then try out this tutorial about light painting: https://carynesplin.com/table-top-light-painting-in-10-steps/ Thanks for the comment!
Shooting in Bannack was so fun, I learned so much that day! Thank you so much for providing us with that amazing opportunity and learning experience.
It was a blast and you are very welcome, Leighton! Thanks for the comment 🙂
These images are fantastic! You are so good at light painting. Every time I look at your images I have a desire to go light paint anything I can. I love all these images, especially the last one. The stars look incredible and just add so much to the image. You’re an inspiration to me – I love your work!
Wow, Nicole, you just made my whole semester! I am inspired by your work. You have so much talent and I am so happy you will be going to Photoshop World and taking the advanced course: Comm 316 Professional Imaging, You are awesome and I can’t wait to see your photobook. Your framed fine art print of Janelle looks stunning on display in the Spori foyer. Excellent work! I LOVE your recent images from Bannack Ghost Town here: http://nicolenugent.wordpress.com/