Draw Messages With Light on Live Photographs
If your digital camera offers a manual shutter speed, you can use LEDs (light-emitting diodes) to write messages in a long exposure. The whimsical results have more personality than Photoshop tricks, and you can share them instantly from the camera.
Because LEDs shine very brightly, yet in a concentrated area, they work better for this trick than other light sources (such as ordinary flashlights or a cell phone).
The 'water' in this photo was 'drawn' by LED light.Use a small LED flashlight or buy LEDs from RadioShack and attach them to 3-volt disc batteries. Mount your camera on a tripod or a steady table, and set it for a long exposure. Play with the settings: I got good results at f/20, with exposure times of 20 seconds or more. If there isn't much ambient light, don't worry about leaving the shutter open too long; those lengths just give you more time to draw. While the shutter is open, sketch through the air with the LEDs. You can even fire the camera's flash--or shoot with another flash, such as on a different camera--to illuminate people in the foreground. --Zack Stern
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