For the photo shown to the right, taken at night in a Texas ghost town, Danser assembled the following items: a powerful, handheld LED light; his Canon 5D Mark iii camera and Canon 16-35 mm L lens (at 16mm); Canon 580ex 2 flash; a red gel (piece of red cellophane to color the light of the flash); a tripod; and his girlfriend’s finger (to graciously hold down the shutter release button because he forgot his bulb release at home!).

Danser told Pegasus: “So, I set my camera on bulb mode and had my girlfriend hold down the shutter release button for 13 minutes, while the camera was very sturdy on the tripod. The place was pitch black except for the stars and the moon (very little ambient light pollution in the desert). As my girlfriend was keeping the shutter open, I walked to one side of the structure and methodically shined my flashlight (rated at 2000 lumens, so it’s pretty bright) all along the exterior and front facade of the building. This lasted for about five minutes before I turned the flashlight off and ran to the other side of the building and ‘painted’ for another five minutes.”

Danser said that one of the important tricks of light painting is to show off the textures of the buildings by shining his LED flashlight at an angle instead of from the camera position.

After “painting” the sides of the building for five minutes each, he ran inside and popped off about 10 red-gelled flashes to create the effect of a warm glow pouring out of the building.

When asked how he was able to run in and out of the building without showing up in the photo, Danser simply replied that “The camera could not ‘see’ me because I was moving quickly, and there wasn’t enough ambient light to expose me in the picture.” While popping off the gelled flashes in the building, he always made sure he was not visible to the camera.

After 13 minutes at an aperture of 2.8, Danser was able to get an excellent exposure of the night sky while having ample time to do all of the “light painting” that he had planned beforehand.

Soon I hope to try some light painting of my own with less expensive equipment to show you how anyone can adopt Danser’s technique. After all, light can be used in all kinds of art and photography projects.

In the meantime, check out this Danser’s website to see tons of beautiful experiments playing with—and painting with—light. Thanks, Matt!

I mean, this is crazy, right?! You can almost FEEL the presence of these weird light dudes as they approach you at a murderously slow pace. Are they astronauts on our own planet? Is this our planet? I was unable to locate a larger version of this photograph, but I still put it at the top because it is incredibly evocative. And that’s not even the real kicker. If you’ve read my other posts on light painting, you know that incredibly long exposure times are necessary for shots like this. So homegirl or homeboy was out in the snow, in the dark, making this thing. And she/he had the wherewithal, tromping through the icy powder, to render these human forms so very well, even making one look like he’s trudging knee-deep. So weirdly inhuman. So weirdly human. I love this photo.

2. Give Up the Ghost

I would never give you a photo of old shoes to look at unless there were something special going on in the picture. In this one, there’s a simple, appropriate message. Ready for it? LIGHT ENHANCES THINGS. Duh, right? This photo is aesthetically interesting, but more valuable to me is the way it shows the essential point of light painting: To have fun! To breathe some excitement into your photography. If your only subject is an old pair of Tims, don’t complain. Turn off the lights and bust out a “paintbrush.”

7. There Are ALMOST No Words for This

Isn’t this great? What I love most is how nonchalant and, well, normal the guy looks in this photo. See? It’s all about juxtaposition. Angel wings mixed with a loud sense of everydayness (he COULD be wearing white robes) make you take notice of the unspoken contradiction. You ask, Why this? And you are led to wonder if maybe this is saying something about how sometimes the people who are the most inconspicuous are the most angelic. See what I did there? That’s why I have chosen these photos from among the hundreds that are out there. They invite wonder and have the power to lead to new insights. I am a dork.

9. Do Not Anger Him/Her/It

* Note: I found these photos on Pinterest and was unable to confirm all of their original sources. So, if you have any information about the original sources for any of these photos, please let us know in the comments sections. We want to give credit for these fantastic light painting photos where it is very much due! Thanks!

solar lights to our online store, and there are a handful that I’ve been ogling since the day they took residence on our site. In a strictly professional quest to gain a better understanding of our product offerings (wink, wink) I requested some products for thorough evaluation. The first item to take the spotlight: The Solar LED White Washed Metal Lantern:

The Nitty Gritty:

This lantern would be an attractive addition to just about any style or decor. Use it with a beachy/coastal home or a rustic mountain cabin. I probably wouldn’t choose it as a decoration for an ultra-modern home, as it has a very vintage look.

Most people have dealt with a power cut at some time or the other. There could be a very bad storm or lightning could strike and the power could get cut; but it also returns quite quickly. However, you might switch on the computer and notice it has stopped working.

This is caused when lightning hits a power line which results in a sudden surge on the electrical pressure that overloads the electronic circuitry. It’s true that lightning strikes cause power surges; even everyday appliances in our homes can cause power surges every time they are switched.

Over time, these seemingly small surges can cause a lot of damage to your property; and they slowly reduce the lifespan of your refrigerator, computer or air-conditioner or any other appliance that’s plugged into a power outlet or any that’s been hardwired into the electrical system in your home. The one way to protect your property from damage is to learn more about what power surges are.

Across Australia, the basic electrical voltage for residences is 230V + 10% up to – 6%. The load vibrations are taken into account in this particular range, as the appliances quickly cut in & out. In case the voltage increases above the working range of the appliance, it can result in arcing in the appliance.

These arcs generate heat, and these results in damage to the electrical components within the appliance. This type of damage is cumulative and the appliances are still able to function normally, till the point the damage becomes so excessive that your PC or TV just stops working for no apparent reason.

For all plug-and-play appliances like your TV and PC, you can connect them to a point-of-surge protector, and that becomes a very easy solution. This particular system is very much like a standard power board. You simply have to plug in the appliances that have to be protected, into the device. This device doesn’t suppress/arrest the surge; it redirects that surge straight into the ground. If you have to protect only a single appliance and a point-of-use protector doesn’t fit, then it’s possible to get a special outlet with the built-in protection installed.

Even as the point-of-use devices protect various appliances which are typically plugged into any power outlet, you would have to get another device to protect those items which are hardwired into the electrical system of your home, including the lights and air-conditioners. These devices can be easily complemented by an electrical panel surge protector.

If it’s installed inside the mains, it will level out the fluctuations and power spikes; or it might also stop them well before they reach the devices. When a mix of electrical panel surge protection and point of use protection are used, it helps provide your equipment and devices from very powerful voltage spikes.

If you have consistently experienced any power surge issues in the past or if you want to just protect your property against the probability of surges, you only have to call us and speak with our experts. They will provide you with all the information and guidance you need and will ensure that you get the kind of solutions that work perfectly for you.

For more information, simply speak with the experts at Allround Electrical and take their advice on various aspects of CBUS installations. The number to call is – 1300 169 263. You can also write to us at this email address.

Thanks for reading,1300 169 263

Los Angeles is undertaking a quiet revolution, a switchover to electric cars. This is a revolution that promises bluer skies and greater freedom from foreign oil. At this writing, the Middle East is involved with its own, noisier revolutions, and the stock market is tumbling thanks to perennial shakes over skyrocketing oil prices. Everybody who wants to be independent of foreign oil right now, raise your hands!

Getting back to the other revolution, the quiet one, going on in Los Angeles… car makers and dealers, drivers, and electrical contractors are all involved in a switchover to electric vehicles (EVs). The government is backing it with tax credits and rebates. More on that in later posts.

In December 2010, Nissan started selling an electric car in L.A., the Nissan Leaf. Early this year, G.M. will start selling the electric Chevy Volt. This revolution isn’t confined to L.A. – all along the West Coast and some of the East Coast, deliveries of EVs to new owners are starting. But L.A. is out ahead of a lot of the rest of the country. The Leaf and Volt won’t go on sale, for example, in South Carolina until next December. Pike Research, a transportation analysis firm, has projected that only New York City will beat us out in electric vehicle sales. Pike Research projects 96,000 EVs will be sold in L.A. by 2017. Of course, EV sales could move faster if the price of gas shoots past projected levels.

Both the Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt will be priced for middle income families. As electrical contractors in Los Angeles, we’ve already started installing chargers, including in home garages, apartment buildings, and commercial venues.

The Leaf is all-electric with an average range of 100 miles before its battery needs to be recharged. The Volt is a hybrid. With a fully charged battery, it can drive about 35 miles and then, it starts burning gas. Drivers can recharge their Leaf or Volt batteries by pulling out their special cord called a “Level 1 Charger” and plugging it into an outlet that carries regular house current.

The advantage of Level 1 charging is that it’s simple and inexpensive to set up. Hire an electrician to install a circuit in your garage or carport. It will need to be a dedicated circuit, meaning that no other appliances, like a washer, for example, will use it. The outlet will need to be the safety version usual in garages and outdoors (a GFI outlet). Also, your electrician will need to check whether your electrical panel should be upgraded in size to handle the increased power demand. Once the outlet is installed, the EV driver pulls out the Level 1 charging cord that comes with the car, starts charging, and lets the car sit … for a long time.

Level 1 charging is… well, slow. A Chevy Volt battery takes 10 hours from empty to full; a Nissan Leaf takes 20 hours. But help is on the way – Level 2 charging. More on that in my next post or click here for our article which talks about Level 2 Charging.

And did I mention that The Electric Connection website offers $25 off your first electrical job? Plus coupons for Whole House Surge Protectors and other services? Check it out.