Lights on Castle Island is a lightpainting we made in our home town Capelle aan den IJssel. We wanted to 'highlight' the interesting and historic parts of our town.
As for the making of the lightpainting we had to find a balance with the lights in the back (behind the trees) and the effect we wanted to give the image. We used the small island which is all that remains of the small castle it ones held. The bridge is a replica of the one that was once there.
We wanted the lights to give a feel of a party that was happening on the island and a woman entering from the side. The reflections in the water of the lights would give more interest to the composition.
The woman is lit by a Magilight with a simple image (bmp) which we created to keep in balance with the other colors we used for the party effect. The lantern holds a real candle which we had to blow out quickly after the camera started to prevent from blown out parts in the image.
The lights on the island are created with jars holding small candles (which also had to be blown out soon after the camera started to prevent from blown out dots). The string of light (christmas lights on batteries) were placed on sticks to keep them on the right height. The stars were made with smaller flashlights by two people running around placing them on different heights and variations.
The bridge was lit by hand with a Klarus.
Last but not least the bokeh lights had to give a rich feel and link the lights together in the composition. They are made by piercing a black cardboard with tiny little dots (smallest needle we could find) which was held in front of the camera and lit by a single flashlight for a very brief moment. This is why these lights are not showing up in the reflection of the water.
Camera details: ISO 800, F11, 249 seconds Canon 5D IV, 50mm of 24-105 mm and off course on tripod (Manfrotto).
Thanks to our always helpfull model Niye Cika
Only digital work done in Lightroom is bit of color, brightness, crop and export to jpg (shot in RAW)