Local artist uses light instead of paintbrushes to create stunning works

Do not adjust your television. That strand of dancing light may not seem like much now, but with some patience and the right equipment it goes from a minor curiosity to a mind-blowing masterpiece. It's called light painting and it's a specialty of night photographer Lisa Ryan. So what is a light painter? Well that's a night photographer who uses lights, flashlights or light tools to enhance the landscape and also to draw. How do you draw with a light? You have a flashlight or attached sometimes to a light tool and you are you know making you're moving with your arms and your hands and your body. It's an art that takes time to develop. These are long exposures you give yourself a good four to six minutes. No you can't see what you're doing. When you're done you go back and you look at the back of the camera and you say that flower didn't make it into the frame you know and then you go back and you kind of fine tune it. If light is the paint these are the paint brushes. Now this does not look like your average flashlight here. No these are a lot of these are quite different. What is this one right here? This feels very kind of like Star Wars to me. When you move this what you get are different kinds of lines. Many of the tools are homemade though some look quite familiar. I think anyone who grew up in the 80s will recognize this from the ice capades. So now we know how to use them finally. So now you know what to do with them exactly. The best way to learn something is to do it so I decided to give light painting a try. So are you ready? Well our video cameras were unable to recreate the long exposures needed for traditional light painting using freeze-frame technology we still made some art. We don't have a fun job at all not at all. And Ryan confirmed that community is a big part of the process. Through social media you can be friends with people all over the world and see what people are doing in Mexico in Europe and you know everybody is able to kind of contribute to knowledge and ideas. It's always an adventure it's always different you're limited only by your own imagination. And if you are interested in light painting or night photography Lisa is co-organizer of the Greater Boston Night Photographers Meetup. A group hosting a city photo adventures discussions and tips and Ryan does advise if you are an amateur night photographer take precaution especially in remote areas. Smart stay safe. That is Chronicle for tonight. Thanks so much for joining us. I'm Shana Seymour and I'm Anthony Everett. Have a great evening hope to see you back here again tomorrow night for another edition of Chronicle.