Artist Pays Tribute To Musicians We’ve Lost With Colorful Light Paintings of Skeleton Bands

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Credits: Darren Pearson

As a pioneer in light painting and media services, Darren Pearson, an artist at Dariustwin, is an expert. Long-exposure photography includes leaving the camera’s shutter open for the duration of the exposure while using an LED light source to resemble a brush on a canvas.

Using this method, you may capture the trail of light left by LEDs “painting” in the air. Only at night or in a dimly light setting are these photos possible. Until the artist has stopped the shutter after finishing their work, they cannot view their finished piece.

Pearson created the recent series “Ghost Bands”, which contains photographs of neon-skeleton musicians performing various acts like handclapping or dancing against a starry night sky background. The series’ conception was inspired by the loss of many notable musicians.

 

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Many of the pieces depict vast swaths of desert, ocean, or forest. As a result, this body of work lays a lot of importance on the environment in which it is displayed.

Although cameras are used for light painting, the process is more akin to traditional painting than digital photography. The use of a camera is not required for light painting. An error in one light streak might ruin the entire effect because the camera records each individual light streak.

 

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As a point of reference for composition and scale, this artist frequently uses his own body when painting skeletons. When Pearson knows he’s made a mistake, he stops and starts the exposure again from the beginning.

Depending on the complexity of the scene and the number of figures to be painted, a single light painting can take anywhere from one to six minutes to complete. According to the artist, this process will take ‘as long as it takes.’ Whenever he creates a final composite image, he always starts with a painting or a backdrop.

 

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It’s important for him to think about where the stars will look their best in the background of the photos. When all the photographs have been taken, Photoshop is used to combine them into a single image. Pearson’s favorite part of the photo-taking process is seeing what he’s caught on the camera’s LCD screen after he’s taken the picture.

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