Light Painting

Come over to the dark side. And bring a torch – we're about to enter the mysterious world of light painting with G&C's very own Ivan Krpan.

Next time you're walking to the corner shop, there's a possibility a group of fearless photographers are moving beneath your feet, searching for the perfect backdrop to their light painting experiments. One of these dark-dwelling adventurers is Ivan Krpan, and his group captures the darkest of Melbourne's long forgotten buildings and graffiti-strewn tunnels.

Says Ivan, "Our group goes to a mix of underground stormwater drains and abandoned buildings. A lot of the time finding new places is through word of mouth, but searching online can also find some interesting locations."

Always keen on urban exploration and night time photography, Ivan sees light painting as the perfect way to put the two together, as well as a chance to see a side of Melbourne which is usually hidden away.

'Basically light painting requires long shutter speeds, anything from 5 seconds to 1 minute, allowing us to move about and create light trails. Sometimes I'll also use floodlight gels to add a bit more colour. My 'thing' at the moment is using a lightsaber, though any form of light is adequate. Others also use lit steel wool to create sparks."

New to photography, Ivan has quickly put together his kit. "For the majority of the photos I've been using a Nikon D7000 and an assortment of lenses, usually a 18-105mm and a wide angle 10-24mm. For background lighting I've a pair of Litepanels LED floodlights with coloured gels. For light painting I'm using a lightsaber from Ultrasabers (www.ultrasabers.com), they're pretty bright and come in an assortment of colours."

Back in the studio, most shots require some work, but Ivan says he only tries to extract a little more detail from shadows and enhance key colours. Everything else is exactly as caught by the camera. "Light painting is always an experiment in getting the right exposure and movement."

So, what's next for Ivan? "I generally like industrial locations, anything with big machinery, like an old brickworks or smelter would be amazing. I had my eye on the old power station in the city but that has since been demolished. It probably wasn't that safe. It had asbestos."

See more of Ivan's work on his Flickr stream here