Abstract Photographic Art: Parabolas

ISO200, 16mm, f/2.8, 48 seconds

Hey folks, saw this abstract art technique recently and thought I’d put it out there if you didn’t know about it. Light trails can make some great images, all you need is a tripod and a small light (and a camera, obviously). It relies on opening the shutter for several seconds and drawing something with a little pen light. This technique is pretty similar. You need to be in a really dark room and have a shutter release cable attached as some exposures can run into minutes.

ISO100, 16mm, f/11 172 Seconds

All you do is hang a small pen light from the ceiling, I just used a bit of duck tape to hold the string and torch up. Lie the camera flat on the floor directly below the light and try and get the focus locked on to the light and then set it to manual focus. Set the camera to Bulb mode (B) or manual (M, manual mode will only allow 30 seconds maximum so if you have a cable release, use bulb), ISO at 100 and aperture may vary depending on the brightness of the torch. In the photos here I used f/2.8 as the first torch was very dim then when I swapped torches I had to use f/11, if you do a few test shots first you’ll get an idea of the aperture needed. Once everything is set to go, turn off the lights and set the light swinging, open the shutter for say 1-2 minutes and see what you get. I used a wide angle here so I could use a long piece of string but it depends on what you have available.

ISO100, 16mm, f/11 159 Seconds

The result is and abstract parabolic swirl. You can use lightroom to adjust any colours either with white balance or split toning and maybe increase the blacks to make sure no light has spilled onto any surrounding furniture. Good luck if you try it folks, varying the starting direction will massively alter the end result.