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LIGHTPAINTINGS FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY
WHAT ARE LIGHTPAINTINGS
The term "Lightpaintings" comes from the word "Photograph" In Latin, the word "Foto" means "light" The word "Graph" means "draw" or in some languages translates as "paint". Put together you get "photograph" or Lightpainting", which is what we have created in this collection. We literally held the shutter on the camera open and walked around painting light on the subjects with a simple flashlight purchased from a hardware store. Since light overcomes darkness and reveals what is hidden in the darkness, the image is highly dependent upon how the light is used and what is revealed. They say "content is king and composition is queen". Vandivier would add "then lighting for a great photo is God!".
VANDIVIER'S LIGHTPAINTINGS
This collection of lightpaintings was created by Kevin Vandivier. Vandivier first started playing with lightpainting while in college in 1977. For Kevin it was just a hobby technique to play with occasionally. Then a major national magazine discovered his works and asked him to write an article on his lightpainting techniques.
MOON LIGHT LOVERS
THE STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO:
Sometimes I feel inspired to create a scene from my imagination and light paint it. For years whenever we had time, the skies were clear and there was a full moon rising, my wife and I would find some remote field, throw a blanket down, pop the cork off the top of a wine bottle ( in our more frugal days we would unscrew the top off the wine bottle;) and lets just say we enjoyed the moonlight. I decided to take these experiences and create a lightpainting from a much more innocent time.
-Kevin Vandivier
PRINTS & ADVENTURES
Vandivier's fine art prints are sold in limited editions and printed on your choice of Dye Infused Metal Prints mounted and ready to hang, Chromira Metalic Archival Paper and finally Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Baryta paper. Due to limited availability, Vandivier masterwork, prints cannot be purchased online. For collector inquiries, please click "contact" below to be connected with our Art Specialist. If you're interested in knowing more about Vandivier's workshop adventures checkout National Photographic Adventures at www.scenicpic.com
Sometimes I feel inspired to create a scene from my imagination and light paint it. For years whenever we had time, the skies were clear and there was a full moon rising, my wife and I would find some remote field, throw a blanket down, pop the cork off the top of a wine bottle ( in our more frugal days we would unscrew the top off the wine bottle;) and lets just say we enjoyed the moonlight. I decided to take these experiences and create a lightpainting from a much more innocent time.
-Kevin Vandivier
PRINTS & ADVENTURES
Vandivier's fine art prints are sold in limited editions and printed on your choice of Dye Infused Metal Prints mounted and ready to hang, Chromira Metalic Archival Paper and finally Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Baryta paper. Due to limited availability, Vandivier masterwork, prints cannot be purchased online. For collector inquiries, please click "contact" below to be connected with our Art Specialist. If you're interested in knowing more about Vandivier's workshop adventures checkout National Photographic Adventures at www.scenicpic.com
FALL ASPENS & GRAND TETONS
THE STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO:
I enjoy traveling to the Grand Tetons just about every year to either shoot new fine art imagery or to lead a photographic fine art photography workshop adventure. Through the years I had photographed this tree lined road, mostly aspens , with The Grand Teton usually being the main focus of the photo at the end of the road. One year I decided to make the trees the main focus of the shot when I saw how beautiful the aspens were once their leaves had turned neon yellow. Having the bright idea to light paint the aspens, feeling it would make a great fine art print for my studio wall. At the time I was teaching a workshop adventure and was demonstrating my lighting techniques as the students lined up across the road shooting as we drove up and down the road light painting the trees for them. Now down at the end of the road it hooked a sharp right and on one of those trips awaiting me with his gun drawn was a Game Warden. The officer was sure I and his helpers were using the flashlights to freeze wildlife in their tracks so it was easy to shoot them down, which is very illegal but, many losers with a gun do this all the time. The officer completely emptied my Landcruiser, stopping only to ask where the guns were? My answer to him was the same each time, "we don't shoot with guns, we shoot with camera's" I even encouraged him to "look around the curve to see the line of photographers lined up across the road." You can't fix stupid! After 30 minutes of looking the warden finally walked down to the curve and saw the workshop photographers all lined up with their cameras. Jokingly, I yelled to the guy to "be careful, thats a real firing squad and they might shoot you:)". The warden turned and smiled sheepishly told us to have a nice day. We returned to our light painting, a bit shocked we had not lost a single student to boredom while all this took place out of their sights and had to be wondering what in the world had happened to their instructor. In the end this beautiful image was created.
-Kevin Vandivier
PRINTS & ADVENTURES
Vandivier's fine art prints are sold in limited editions and printed on your choice of Dye Infused Metal Prints mounted and ready to hang, Chromira Metalic Archival Paper and finally Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Baryta paper. Due to limited availability, Vandivier masterwork, prints cannot be purchased online. For collector inquiries, please click "contact" below to be connected with our Art Specialist. If you're interested in knowing more about Vandivier's workshop adventures checkout National Photographic Adventures at www.scenicpic.com
I enjoy traveling to the Grand Tetons just about every year to either shoot new fine art imagery or to lead a photographic fine art photography workshop adventure. Through the years I had photographed this tree lined road, mostly aspens , with The Grand Teton usually being the main focus of the photo at the end of the road. One year I decided to make the trees the main focus of the shot when I saw how beautiful the aspens were once their leaves had turned neon yellow. Having the bright idea to light paint the aspens, feeling it would make a great fine art print for my studio wall. At the time I was teaching a workshop adventure and was demonstrating my lighting techniques as the students lined up across the road shooting as we drove up and down the road light painting the trees for them. Now down at the end of the road it hooked a sharp right and on one of those trips awaiting me with his gun drawn was a Game Warden. The officer was sure I and his helpers were using the flashlights to freeze wildlife in their tracks so it was easy to shoot them down, which is very illegal but, many losers with a gun do this all the time. The officer completely emptied my Landcruiser, stopping only to ask where the guns were? My answer to him was the same each time, "we don't shoot with guns, we shoot with camera's" I even encouraged him to "look around the curve to see the line of photographers lined up across the road." You can't fix stupid! After 30 minutes of looking the warden finally walked down to the curve and saw the workshop photographers all lined up with their cameras. Jokingly, I yelled to the guy to "be careful, thats a real firing squad and they might shoot you:)". The warden turned and smiled sheepishly told us to have a nice day. We returned to our light painting, a bit shocked we had not lost a single student to boredom while all this took place out of their sights and had to be wondering what in the world had happened to their instructor. In the end this beautiful image was created.
-Kevin Vandivier
PRINTS & ADVENTURES
Vandivier's fine art prints are sold in limited editions and printed on your choice of Dye Infused Metal Prints mounted and ready to hang, Chromira Metalic Archival Paper and finally Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Baryta paper. Due to limited availability, Vandivier masterwork, prints cannot be purchased online. For collector inquiries, please click "contact" below to be connected with our Art Specialist. If you're interested in knowing more about Vandivier's workshop adventures checkout National Photographic Adventures at www.scenicpic.com
THE T.A. MOULTON BARN LIGHTPAINTED
THE STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO:
This Lightpainting was created in The Grand Tetons National Park. The Mormon Barns, as they have been nicknamed, have always interested me through the years, but I never photographed them. Then one year I decided to bring my son and daughter with me. I wanted to teach them how to shoot 4x5 film so I lugged my 4x5 field view camera out to the mormon barns. Now these barns have been shot by everybody and their mothers mother. Since I need to sell prints, I really needed to find an angle that was unique and different but still captured the incredibly beautiful scene. Not an easy task.....but I found a hole in the ground that allowed us to shoot just over the tops of the brush. Feeling good that no one was there except us, we set up our cameras and waited for the right light to shoot. I explained what we were doing to my young teen kids. The light reached what I was looking for and I quickly ran my sheets of film through the view camera, shot a few digital shots and relaxed as I watched my kids take their photos. Suddenly I became aware that the silence we all were enjoying had been shattered and it sounded like I was in the busiest starbucks in the universe. I looked over my shoulder and I kid you not there were at least 100 photographers with their cameras on and off tripods chatting away. I felt sick! I packed my gear up and we left as quick as we could. I was depressed the rest of the day. I even decided not to camp out in our secret spot that almost no one knows about. I got a hotel room in the afternoon before the light got good for evening shooting. We unloaded all our regular stuff into our room when my brilliant son Shannon came in with all my light painting flashlights and began lecturing me about how stupid it was of me to clutter the car with all my flashlights taking up valuable space. It hit me, I had never seen the mormon barns light painted. I kissed my son on the forehead and proclaimed him smarter than he looked, then ordered him to take the flashlights back to the car, we were going to light paint those suckers. When we reached the John Moulton barn there were still a lot of folks around and I did not want anyone seeing what I was doing. So we headed over to the TA Moulton Barn and light painted it and it was cool as you can see above. Once magazines saw this image they wanted to run it. One major magazine, Rangefinder, hired me to write an article on how I created this shot. Well, I did, but I left out the secret sauce:)
-Kevin Vandivier
PRINTS & ADVENTURES
Vandivier's fine art prints are sold in limited editions and printed on your choice of Dye Infused Metal Prints mounted and ready to hang, Chromira Metalic Archival Paper and finally Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Baryta paper. Due to limited availability, Vandivier masterwork, prints cannot be purchased online. For collector inquiries, please click "contact" below to be connected with our Art Specialist. If you're interested in knowing more about Vandivier's workshop adventures checkout National Photographic Adventures at www.scenicpic.com
This Lightpainting was created in The Grand Tetons National Park. The Mormon Barns, as they have been nicknamed, have always interested me through the years, but I never photographed them. Then one year I decided to bring my son and daughter with me. I wanted to teach them how to shoot 4x5 film so I lugged my 4x5 field view camera out to the mormon barns. Now these barns have been shot by everybody and their mothers mother. Since I need to sell prints, I really needed to find an angle that was unique and different but still captured the incredibly beautiful scene. Not an easy task.....but I found a hole in the ground that allowed us to shoot just over the tops of the brush. Feeling good that no one was there except us, we set up our cameras and waited for the right light to shoot. I explained what we were doing to my young teen kids. The light reached what I was looking for and I quickly ran my sheets of film through the view camera, shot a few digital shots and relaxed as I watched my kids take their photos. Suddenly I became aware that the silence we all were enjoying had been shattered and it sounded like I was in the busiest starbucks in the universe. I looked over my shoulder and I kid you not there were at least 100 photographers with their cameras on and off tripods chatting away. I felt sick! I packed my gear up and we left as quick as we could. I was depressed the rest of the day. I even decided not to camp out in our secret spot that almost no one knows about. I got a hotel room in the afternoon before the light got good for evening shooting. We unloaded all our regular stuff into our room when my brilliant son Shannon came in with all my light painting flashlights and began lecturing me about how stupid it was of me to clutter the car with all my flashlights taking up valuable space. It hit me, I had never seen the mormon barns light painted. I kissed my son on the forehead and proclaimed him smarter than he looked, then ordered him to take the flashlights back to the car, we were going to light paint those suckers. When we reached the John Moulton barn there were still a lot of folks around and I did not want anyone seeing what I was doing. So we headed over to the TA Moulton Barn and light painted it and it was cool as you can see above. Once magazines saw this image they wanted to run it. One major magazine, Rangefinder, hired me to write an article on how I created this shot. Well, I did, but I left out the secret sauce:)
-Kevin Vandivier
PRINTS & ADVENTURES
Vandivier's fine art prints are sold in limited editions and printed on your choice of Dye Infused Metal Prints mounted and ready to hang, Chromira Metalic Archival Paper and finally Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Baryta paper. Due to limited availability, Vandivier masterwork, prints cannot be purchased online. For collector inquiries, please click "contact" below to be connected with our Art Specialist. If you're interested in knowing more about Vandivier's workshop adventures checkout National Photographic Adventures at www.scenicpic.com
“the tribes camping on the east are to set out.”- Numbers 10:5
THE STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO:
Not often are you driving down a country road and come across what looks like a native indian living in a functioning Teepee. I stopped to talk with this woman and she explained to me that during the winter, they live in the house and pointed to a cool old frame house nearby. She also explained their heritage with the local Indians, the Shoshone Tribe. They lived in the tent during the summer months as a way to connect with their family history. She did not want to be photographed, but allowed me to light paint the Tee Pee. That fall evening, in Wyoming, I light painted the trees and tipi at dusk to create the art you see above.
-Kevin Vandivier
PRINTS & ADVENTURES
Vandivier's fine art prints are sold in limited editions and printed on your choice of Dye Infused Metal Prints mounted and ready to hang, Chromira Metalic Archival Paper and finally Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Baryta paper. Due to limited availability, Vandivier masterwork, prints cannot be purchased online. For collector inquiries, please click "contact" below to be connected with our Art Specialist. If you're interested in knowing more about Vandivier's workshop adventures checkout National Photographic Adventures at www.scenicpic.com
Not often are you driving down a country road and come across what looks like a native indian living in a functioning Teepee. I stopped to talk with this woman and she explained to me that during the winter, they live in the house and pointed to a cool old frame house nearby. She also explained their heritage with the local Indians, the Shoshone Tribe. They lived in the tent during the summer months as a way to connect with their family history. She did not want to be photographed, but allowed me to light paint the Tee Pee. That fall evening, in Wyoming, I light painted the trees and tipi at dusk to create the art you see above.
-Kevin Vandivier
PRINTS & ADVENTURES
Vandivier's fine art prints are sold in limited editions and printed on your choice of Dye Infused Metal Prints mounted and ready to hang, Chromira Metalic Archival Paper and finally Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Baryta paper. Due to limited availability, Vandivier masterwork, prints cannot be purchased online. For collector inquiries, please click "contact" below to be connected with our Art Specialist. If you're interested in knowing more about Vandivier's workshop adventures checkout National Photographic Adventures at www.scenicpic.com
FALL ROCK
THE STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO:
Light painting in nature can be very tricky. Deciding what to allow to show up organically versus what to light paint, when and from what direction. For this image I decided to shoot it at dawn capturing the first light hitting the top of the Grand Teton at sunrise. Oh yeah, I created this image in the Grand Tetons National Park, Wyoming, land of the grizzlies! Yup, thats right when I was light painting from behind that big rock, I thought I heard something coming from the tree line behind me. I quickly look over my shoulder to see an older griz looking back at me with a very special look in his eyes. Keep in mind, this is early fall...the time for bears to stuff themselves before that long nap they take every winter. I just froze for a few seconds, which is like hours when a bear is front of you trying to decide whether or not to eat you. Then I remember my bear spray, which was in the Landcruiser. So, I improvised, I light painted him with my very, very bright flashlight. He did not like the bright light in his eyes and turned away from me. He looked back at me and so I hit him again with the light and he decided to head back into the woods. I had planned on light painting the tree line behind the rock, but decided I had painted all I needed and quickly grabbed my camera and hiked back to the truck. I know your thinking how smart I was. Nope, the light was getting sweet by this time so I grabbed my 600mm, loaded it on my wimberley mount and hiked back towards the tree line to see if my griz would return for a portrait session. He did and that photo is number 9 in the Animal Collection.
-Kevin Vandivier
PRINTS & ADVENTURES
Vandivier's fine art prints are sold in limited editions and printed on your choice of Dye Infused Metal Prints mounted and ready to hang, Chromira Metalic Archival Paper and finally Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Baryta paper. Due to limited availability, Vandivier masterwork, prints cannot be purchased online. For collector inquiries, please click "contact" below to be connected with our Art Specialist. If you're interested in knowing more about Vandivier's workshop adventures checkout National Photographic Adventures at www.scenicpic.com
Light painting in nature can be very tricky. Deciding what to allow to show up organically versus what to light paint, when and from what direction. For this image I decided to shoot it at dawn capturing the first light hitting the top of the Grand Teton at sunrise. Oh yeah, I created this image in the Grand Tetons National Park, Wyoming, land of the grizzlies! Yup, thats right when I was light painting from behind that big rock, I thought I heard something coming from the tree line behind me. I quickly look over my shoulder to see an older griz looking back at me with a very special look in his eyes. Keep in mind, this is early fall...the time for bears to stuff themselves before that long nap they take every winter. I just froze for a few seconds, which is like hours when a bear is front of you trying to decide whether or not to eat you. Then I remember my bear spray, which was in the Landcruiser. So, I improvised, I light painted him with my very, very bright flashlight. He did not like the bright light in his eyes and turned away from me. He looked back at me and so I hit him again with the light and he decided to head back into the woods. I had planned on light painting the tree line behind the rock, but decided I had painted all I needed and quickly grabbed my camera and hiked back to the truck. I know your thinking how smart I was. Nope, the light was getting sweet by this time so I grabbed my 600mm, loaded it on my wimberley mount and hiked back towards the tree line to see if my griz would return for a portrait session. He did and that photo is number 9 in the Animal Collection.
-Kevin Vandivier
PRINTS & ADVENTURES
Vandivier's fine art prints are sold in limited editions and printed on your choice of Dye Infused Metal Prints mounted and ready to hang, Chromira Metalic Archival Paper and finally Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Baryta paper. Due to limited availability, Vandivier masterwork, prints cannot be purchased online. For collector inquiries, please click "contact" below to be connected with our Art Specialist. If you're interested in knowing more about Vandivier's workshop adventures checkout National Photographic Adventures at www.scenicpic.com
JOHN MOULTON BARN LIGHTPAINTED
THE STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO:
The Mormon Barns, as they have been nicknamed, have always interested me through the years, but I never photographed them. Then one year I decided to bring my son and daughter with me. I wanted to teach them how to shoot 4x5 film. Now these barns have been shot by everybody and their mothers mother. I found a hole in the ground that allowed us to shoot just over the tops of the brush. Feeling good that no one was there except us, we set up our cameras and waited for the right light to shoot. I explained what we were doing to my young teen kids. Then the light reached what I was looking for and I quickly ran my sheets of film through the view camera, shot a few digital shots and relaxed as I watched my kids take their photos. Suddenly I became aware that the silence we all were enjoying had been shattered and it sounded like I was in the busiest starbucks in the universe. I looked over my shoulder from my hole in the ground and I kid you not there were at least 100 photographers with their cameras on and off tripods chatting away. I felt sick! I packed my gear up and we left as quick as we could. I was depressed the rest of the day and to this day I have yet to process those sheets of film. That afternoon, I got a hotel room in Jackson before the light got good for evening shooting. We unloaded all of our regular stuff into our room when my brilliant son Shannon came in with all my light painting flashlights and began lecturing me about how stupid it was of me to clutter the car with all my flashlights taking up valuable space. It hit me, I had never seen the mormon barns light painted. I kissed my son on the forehead and proclaimed him smarter than he looked, then ordered him to take the flashlights back to the car, we were going to light paint those suckers. When we reached the John Moulton barn there were still a lot of folks around and I did not want anyone seeing what I was doing. So we headed over to the TA Moulton Barn and light painted it and the next night returned to the John Moulton Barn and lightpainted it as you can see in the art above. In the foreground you can even see the ruts created wagon wheels well over 100 years ago
-Kevin Vandivier
PRINTS & ADVENTURES
Vandivier's fine art prints are sold in limited editions and printed on your choice of Dye Infused Metal Prints mounted and ready to hang, Chromira Metalic Archival Paper and finally Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Baryta paper. Due to limited availability, Vandivier masterwork, prints cannot be purchased online. For collector inquiries, please click "contact" below to be connected with our Art Specialist. If you're interested in knowing more about Vandivier's workshop adventures checkout National Photographic Adventures at www.scenicpic.com
The Mormon Barns, as they have been nicknamed, have always interested me through the years, but I never photographed them. Then one year I decided to bring my son and daughter with me. I wanted to teach them how to shoot 4x5 film. Now these barns have been shot by everybody and their mothers mother. I found a hole in the ground that allowed us to shoot just over the tops of the brush. Feeling good that no one was there except us, we set up our cameras and waited for the right light to shoot. I explained what we were doing to my young teen kids. Then the light reached what I was looking for and I quickly ran my sheets of film through the view camera, shot a few digital shots and relaxed as I watched my kids take their photos. Suddenly I became aware that the silence we all were enjoying had been shattered and it sounded like I was in the busiest starbucks in the universe. I looked over my shoulder from my hole in the ground and I kid you not there were at least 100 photographers with their cameras on and off tripods chatting away. I felt sick! I packed my gear up and we left as quick as we could. I was depressed the rest of the day and to this day I have yet to process those sheets of film. That afternoon, I got a hotel room in Jackson before the light got good for evening shooting. We unloaded all of our regular stuff into our room when my brilliant son Shannon came in with all my light painting flashlights and began lecturing me about how stupid it was of me to clutter the car with all my flashlights taking up valuable space. It hit me, I had never seen the mormon barns light painted. I kissed my son on the forehead and proclaimed him smarter than he looked, then ordered him to take the flashlights back to the car, we were going to light paint those suckers. When we reached the John Moulton barn there were still a lot of folks around and I did not want anyone seeing what I was doing. So we headed over to the TA Moulton Barn and light painted it and the next night returned to the John Moulton Barn and lightpainted it as you can see in the art above. In the foreground you can even see the ruts created wagon wheels well over 100 years ago
-Kevin Vandivier
PRINTS & ADVENTURES
Vandivier's fine art prints are sold in limited editions and printed on your choice of Dye Infused Metal Prints mounted and ready to hang, Chromira Metalic Archival Paper and finally Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Baryta paper. Due to limited availability, Vandivier masterwork, prints cannot be purchased online. For collector inquiries, please click "contact" below to be connected with our Art Specialist. If you're interested in knowing more about Vandivier's workshop adventures checkout National Photographic Adventures at www.scenicpic.com
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