Check out this cool profile video on last months contest winner and Light Painter Jelle Schuurmans created by Zoom.NL for Nikon. Click on the CC on the bottom of the video for the English subtitles after you press PLAY.

Prepare to have your mind blown out of your head.

You may have seen recently Light Painting Photographer Patrick Rochon teamed up with the creative design team at Infinity to create the most beautiful automotive advertising campaign ever. I know I am a little bias but oh my goodness this is some stunning work! Now that things have settled down a bit for this inspiring light painter, Patrick finally had a few minutes to answer some questions about the project. Check out these images, the BTS video and the short interview with Mr. Rochon below!

LPP ∇ Holy cow Patrick this is just great, how did this project come about?
PR ∇ It came through email from TBWA. The Infiniti client was looking for something fun, new and creative to do. TBWA saw the Red Bull wakeboard video and asked me if I could do something with cars.

LPP ∇ Who else was involved? Did you work with any other light painters on this project?
PR ∇ Evan Jones is my partner on this, he’s the mind behind the Red Bull project we did last year. As soon as I got this offer I got him on board. It’s amazing to me that he invested two months on this going at it non stop never knowing if this was going to work. This was a big risk for him but he sticked in all the way until we got a green light. We did a photo shoot and the making of video as a first part and we also created a live show similar to the shoot in front of a crowd at the Dubai Motor festival.
For the live part I reached out to Cisco and his partner William. First to get the live light trail on the video screen and second for Cisco to do portraits with participant, he’s a specialist at this. So we ended up with a team from Orlando, Los Angeles, Montreal, Paris, Morocco. Plus in Dubai the local team was composed of “we are the world” with so many nations working together, it was great!

LPP ∇ This must have taken some time to bring this vision to life, can you tell me a little more about the process what was involved?
PR ∇ Like I said before, enormous time of preparation, thinking, designing, bouncing ideas and negotiating with the client. I was spending hours every day and sometimes full days with Evan on Skype. The project started six months prior but it took a good four months of work.

LPP ∇ How many lights were on those cars?
PR ∇ Each vehicle has a total of 2,520 LEDs with output exceeding 30,000 lumens. Designing and assembling the Light Rigs took a team of six specialists several weeks. The specially-made LED strip lighting is a proprietary product manufactured in China under U.S. specification.

LPP ∇ Where were the final images created?
PR ∇ In Dubai

LPP ∇ Thats a pretty awesome place! How many trips did you get to make there?
PR ∇ Just one, I worked from Montreal the whole time by Skype. The computer is now such a resource, a real powerhouse. Then I went one week in Orlando to meet with Evan and work on the final preps tests and tweaking of the lighting on the cars. From there, we went to Dubai for three weeks. First one for the shoot, the second for the edit and the third for the live show.

LPP ∇ What were some of the technical challenges of a project of this magnitude?
PR ∇ The technical challenges!??!! That’s basically what we did all day every day. Solve problems. It is impossible to list the amount of difficulties we had, it was like a non stop fight uphill. That is why I chose my team wisely and this became one of the main keys to this successful accomplishment. To name one, time was one of the biggest challenges, we needed more time to do this. We were constantly working in emergency mode. We had to change the design of the rig on the car three times because of the lack of time we had once the first deposit was given.

LPP ∇ You also did a live performance for the launch?
PR ∇ The live was amazing because of the direct response and contact from the crowd. This was a tour de force with many obstacle heading our way. We would like to refine it and push it further.

LPP ∇ What was the most rewarding part of the whole project?
PR ∇ Seeing the dream go from mind to matter and the feedback we are getting from the public watching, definitely.

LPP ∇ It is just wonderful work congratulations on a very successful project!
PR ∇ Thank you.

To learn more about the project check out the Infinity website HERE.

Recently I saw a post from Carlotte Bertelli showing some 3D live light painting. I said HUH, Wait WHAT?!?! it was incredible, something I have never seen before.

Then I started to check out her LampLighter Project website and fell face first into live light painting madness the likes of which I have never seen. To say that Carlotte is pushing the boundaries of live light painting would be an understatement. I like to think I am pretty knowledgable about whats is going on in the light painting community, how this incredible work slipped by me I have no idea, but I am glad I have finally found it and can share it. Carlotte was kind enough to answer a few questions and share a little more about her incredible work. Check out the videos and short interview below and for even more awesomeness check out The Lamplighter Project!

LPP ∇ WOW Carlotte, you are doing some incredible things with live light painting with your LampLighter Project.
CB ∇ THANK YOU!

LPP ∇ How long have you been creating your work?
CB ∇ I STARTED LIGHTPAINTING 3 YEARS AGO – I USED TO BE A FASHION PHOTOGRAPHER, UNTIL I HAPPENED TO FIND MYSELF ON SET WITHOUT ELECTRICITY – I HAD TO USE A FLASHLIGHT AND FROM THEN ON I’VE NEVER STOPPED. IN 2013 I FOUNDED THE LAMPLIGHTER PROJECT AND NOW I WORK AS A FULLTIME PROFESSIONAL LIGHTPAINTER.

LPP ∇ Obviously there has to be a team of talent involved, who are you working with?
CB ∇ OF COURSE! THE LAMPLIGHTER PROJECT IS ALSO A PROFESSIONAL TEAM OF CREATIVES AND EXPERTS FROM ALL KINDS OF FIELDS. IN PARTICULAR, IT IS THE SYNERGY WITH THE BEST VIDEO AND SOUND DESIGNERS THAT GUARANTEES THE MOST INNOVATIVE LIVE PERFORMANCE!

LPP ∇ Can you tell me more about the software that your using, is it something that you can buy or custom created?
CB ∇ IT WAS CUSTOM CREATED BY THE GENIUS OF ANGELA DI TOMASO AND NOW WE ARE LOOKING FOR BUSINESS ANGELS TO TURN IT INTO AN APP.

LPP ∇ Are you doing these performances for events? If so what has the reaction been?
CB ∇ YES! WE HAVE JUST DONE A PERFORMANCE FOR “TISSOT POWER OF LIGHT EVENT” – IT WAS HOSTED BY THE MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN MILAN IN FRONT OF 200 FROM NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL PRESS & BUYERS. IT WAS THE FIRST LP LIVE PERFORMANCE EVER MADE IN ITALY AND THE FIRST IN THE WORLD OF THIS KIND (JUST THINK ABOUT ALL THE MEDIA INVOLVED)…I DON’T MEAN TO SOUND BOASTED, BUT GUESS WHAT THE REACTION WAS! 😉

LPP ∇ What is the most difficult part of putting a performance like this together my guess would be either the technical or the choreography?
CB ∇ YOU GUESS RIGHT – BOTH! WHAT DISTINGUISH OUR PERFORMANCE IS THE STORYTELLING: AFTER A BRIEFING WTH THE CLIENT WE PRODUCE A STORYBOARD, LIKE A SHORT MOVIE! THEN WE MIX TOGETHER LIGHTPAINTING INTERACTION AND VIDEO PROJECTION AND SYNC IT ALL TOGETHER WITH MUSIC TO CONVEY THE CLIENT’S MESSAGE IN THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY.

LPP ∇ How long does it take you to put a piece like TISSOT POWER OF LIGHT together?
CB ∇ IT TOOK US ABOUT 2 MONTHS OF HARD TEAM WORK, DEALING WITH BOTH TECHNICAL AND CREATIVE ISSUES.

LPP ∇ What if you screw up mid performance, how do you get back on track?
CB ∇ IMPOSSIBLE! 😉 just kidding, luckily it never happened but I think in these cases the best thing to do is to keep going somehow… THE SHOW MUST GO ON!

LPP ∇ I saw you have been working on some 3D light painting, can you tell me more about that?
CB ∇ SURPRISE! WE ARE FINALIZING IT AND RESULTS WILL BE SOON PUBLISHED ON OUR WEBSITE AND FACEBOOK PAGE.

LPP ∇ I feel like you are really making some breakthroughs with this work, whats next? What is your dream?
CB ∇ I AM ALWAYS WORKING ON NEW DIFFERENT PROJECTS, NOW I AM PREPARING MY NEXT EXHIBITION IN PARIS MID NOVEMBER DURING THE PARIS PHOTO BUT WE WILL SOON BE BACK WITH A NEW LIVE PERFOTMANCE! NEXT YEAR IS THE INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF LIGHT AND WE DONT WANT TO MISS ANY APPOINTMENTS!
MY DREAM? TO KEEP EXPLORING THE UNIVERSE WITH MY FLASHLIGHT, TO INSPIRE AND INVOLVE ALL THE PEOPLE I COME ACROSS WITH THE LIGHT OF HEART…AND, LIKE A LAMPLIGHTER, TO LIGHT UP THE WORLD!

LPP ∇ Awesome, well I am sure you are inspiring a lot of people, I for one am inspired by your work! Keep going I can’t wait to see what is next and please keep us informed of your 3D live light painting work!!

CB ∇ THANK YOU.

Talk about taking light painting to new levels… this one literally does in terms of height and progression. Spaxels Light Painting is a swarm of remote controlled drones that can create 3D light painting is the sky. Did you hear what I say?!? They can create 3D LIGHT PAINTINGS in the FREAKING SKY! check out the video and for more Click HERE.

The most common question that I get besides “Is That Photoshop” is “What kind of light tools do you use?”

Like most light painters I have used everything you can think of to modify light. Over my years of Light Painting many of my light modifiers have been empty plastic bottles. The problem I had, and I think many of us have, was that to connect my flashlights to the bottles or to other light modifiers for that matter, I had to use tape. This meant my lights were fixed to one color or texture of light. I had to carry a bunch of lights and light modifiers all the time, if I wanted a brighter flashlight attached to a different light modifier I had to rip the tape off and start over, I ruined my good flashlights with the sticky residue from the tape, using the tape method was very limiting and it just sucked. I wanted a way to be able to universally connect any light I wanted to any light modifier and I wanted to be able to change them quickly and easily.

3 years ago I set out to solve this problem and to create a system of tools that I call “Light Painting Brushes”. I wanted to make something that would be Universal and work with most flashlights on the market! I wanted the System to be simple to use and most importantly it had to be affordable.  After many ridiculously complex prototypes, that didn’t work and would have been way too expensive, the simple and remarkable Universal Connector was finally created.

The Universal Connector is the key that unlocks the “Light Painting Brushes” System. It is a durable rubber fitting that allows you to universally connect literally millions of light emitting devices to a limitless array of custom light modifiers and light painting tools. The Light Painting Brushes allows tools and/or lights to be changed quickly and easily allowing many different “light painting brushes” and lights to be interchanged during a single exposure. Using the Light Painting Brushes Universal Connector you can attach any light emitting device, flashlight, or torch that is relatively round and has a diameter of .975″ to 1.5″  to a variety of custom light painting brushes.

Something that was tremendously important to me when designing this system is the innovation in our light painting community. My favorite feature of the Light Painting Brush System is that the Universal Connector was designed to not only fit the custom line of Light Painting Brushes but it also fits any standard plastic water or soda bottle. If you are on a tight budget or one of the many innovators in our community you can create your own light painting tools out of empty plastic bottles.

The Light Painting Brushes and Universal Connector is a system that you can build on for your entire light painting career. When you get it in your hands and the endless possibilities CLICK, your mind will be blown! I will be working hard to produce new and exciting tools and light modifiers as we move forward, but I know the community will make modifiers that I would never dream of and I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE WHAT YOU CREATE!

Thank you all for your inspiration and support over the years, I hope you love this as much as I do! Check out the short product intro below and for a lot MORE check out LightPaintingBrushes.com