Final Project Proposal: The Impossible Image

For my final project I wanted to stick to photography and not dabble heavily in Photoshop, as I've made any number of photo manipulations but only a few exceptional images thus far in my career. However, rather than make an extended sequence of images I would prefer to just make one excellent image that I could focus all of my time and attention on.

For this reason I decided to choose "The Impossible Image" as my project topic, and approach it in such a way as to produce an image that fit the bar of "impossible" without actually requiring much post-processing and manipulation.

I frequent a blog that posts up interesting do-it-your-own projects and tutorials, and recently said blog reminded me of the photographic manipulation technique "light painting" that a lot of photographers use for experimental but predominantly analog images.

Light Painting Overlay of Sony Camera

I researched a number of the light painting images and videos available on the Internet, and picked out several that served as a source of inspiration for me. My favorite light painting animation is below, and while it's not the most aesthetically perfect piece in terms of composition it definitely serves as a testament to how far this exposure trick can be taken, up to the point of full-fledged animations.



I had also recently read an article about a blind photographer, Pete Eckert, who has been making a name for himself recently. I took a look at his gallery, and the very first image there is particularly striking; almost every image makes use of extremely long exposure times to create fantastical images out of the blurs and twists of light, constructed patiently and with meticulous detail.

"Electroman" by Pete Eckert

Light paintings are not always quite as free-flowing and chaotic, however; the DIY Photography blog recently posted a guide to making structured light painting circles using some simple materials including LED lights and a paint roller.

Utility Light for Light Painting

Final Result

I might not go as far as to wire together an implement, but I can definitely draw from the principles at work here as far as stabilizing the light source I use goes.

So for my impossible image, I want to compose a scene similar to the final result from the DIY blog; that is to say, a person in a semi-fantastical environment with a magical aura wrapping around them in the form of light painting.

I culled through my backlog of images, and came up with one image from the portrait project of Digital Still Imaging I that captured an ethereal mood similar to what I'd like to produce; I'll need to choose a new staging environment and model, but I liked the composition of that shot even though it didn't make it into my final set for that project.

As an additional note, as this project will require a number of resources beyond just a camera and a tripod, I will be collaborating with Ian on the set-up of the project, as he also wants to make a light-painting for his final project.