Yesterday, out of nowhere, it began to snow- the first snow of the season! I knew I had to mark the occasion by going on a quick photo shoot after work.
Recently I had purchased a manual flash after developing a strong liking for experimentation with long exposures. Anything that catches the flash’s bright glow is frozen in the frame, while illuminated elements, such as lights, create sweeping streaks that add a layer of the supernatural.
I put on my boots and hat, and walked to a nearby pond just as darkness was setting in. Before doing anything else, I identified the lights from a nearby school as my illuminated element in the frame. Next, I picked a bench, wooden fence plank, and bridge as my subjects. Finally, it was time to experiment with 10 second exposures.
I carefully tuned the power and focal length of the flash for each shot, and after the initial beam of light went off, I pointed my camera towards the lights of the nearby school while zooming in and out in a figure eight motion. The results are images with a ghost-like glow.