Final Large Print (24×36)

1. Pipe Falls
2. 6/2/12, 11 PM
3. Idaho Falls, ID

4. f/5.6

5. 15″

6. Canon EOS Rebel T3, Tripod, Spotlight

This is the final image I settled on for my print. The image itself works well with the decor my wife and I already have in our house, and it ranked among my top 5 shots from this semester. The picture itself is a light painting experiment, taken on the walking paths at Snake River Landing in Idaho Falls. The only light at the time came from distant streetlights and buildings.

I took this 15 second exposure shot with my Cannon T3 on a tripod just to one side of this path (which the pipes run under.) I set up the shot and had my wife begin the timer as I walked to the far end of the scene with a spotlight and a homemade cardboard choke to block all but the narrow bright beam. As the shutter opened, I walked back down the path and briefly firing the spotlight directly down into each splash zone. I had to be quick as I did not want the full power of the spotlight in any single section, but rather wanted the half-on level obtained by briefly holding the trigger and letting go. I moved quickly towards the camera and was out of the way for the last five or so seconds.

In post, I tried many different things. What I finally settled on was a near 100% Camera Raw edit. I began by raising the exposure and brightness across the entire picture. The background was extremely dark, so I brightened it up a touch more. I could not brighten it any more than shown, as it began to be extremely grainy. I lowered the brightness and exposure and increased the sharpness of the flowing water, and increased saturation where needed.

Finally, after two different 8×10 prints to test colors, I expanded my image size to 24×36 (ending at 118 ppi.) After checking everything to ensure I would not have printing problems, I took the image to be printed and ran to purchase my frame. By the time I found a frame and grabbed lunch with my wife, my print was ready. Everything fit surprisingly perfectly, and that was it!