Light Letters + Long Exposures

Two weeks ago, while we were whiling away the weekend on Sturdivant Island, we found ourselves with no occasion to use our camera tripod because the supermoon was super cloud-covered. Since we hauled it to the island by boat, it seemed a shame; we gathered up some friends and some sparklers instead.

Using a tripod and a four second exposure, Jack captured some sparkler action on the dock.

Once we ran out of sparklers, we wondered if we might be able to use lights to spell words.

We could.

Four of us held a mix of phones and headlamps (the iPhone flashlight app – in my hands on the far right – worked perfectly) and traced letters in reverse while Jack captured the action with four second exposures again. The second E in “beer” presented a bit of a challenge, until the person responsible took the headlamp off his head.

A three-photo series successfully spelled out STURDIVANT, which our friend Alex later pieced together along with portraits for a Sturdivant collage.

With four light-holders, we began spelling out four-letter names; Alex traced a terrific ampersand as well.

Then I wondered if I could manage to write whole script words rather than single letters; the first attempt (writing in reverse in only four seconds) was messy.

But once Jack extended the exposure to 10 seconds and we committed to flipping the images later (meaning I could write in the “correct” direction from my perspective), things improved.

We’re hoping to have a chance to do more with long exposures, sparklers and letters this weekend in New Hampshire. What should we write?

image credits: 11-Alex Denniston; remainder-Union Jack Creative