ZOOM | Spring 2015

Photographer Justin Samson and local
artist Sara Faye Agnew have been working
on a project they’re calling Painting with
Light, using a photographic technique that
captures the movement of light during long
exposures. There are many ways to paint with
light, several of which are displayed here.
In this series of photographs, glow sticks,
sparklers, flashlights, and spinning steel
wool were used to create light effects. Each
photo was taken on a tripod with slow shutter
speeds ranging from 10 to 30 seconds. The
ISO is set as low as possible for maximum
quality, using a medium aperture, f/6.3-f/13,
to maintain a sharp focus throughout the
image and to control the light exposure. The
artists wanted to capture well-known spots
around the Sunshine Coast and show them in
a different way. The project started with the
glow-stick photo on top of Soames Hill under
a super moon and grew from there. Some of
the other locations include Davis Bay pier
and beach, the totem poles at the Sechelt
Indian Band, Gospel Rock, Armours Beach,
and the Gibsons skateboard park.
justin samson
light paintings with sara faye agnew
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