'writing' with light???

There are some shots that I really want to do, but I'm not sure how

to do it. I would like to open the shutter "B" in a completely dark

room and turn on a bright, hand-held light and draw in the air with

it. I would then like to pop a flash sometime during the shot to

show the subject and what he is doing.

 

I think I remember seeing a shot a long time ago of Picasso doing

something like this. I think he teamed up with a photographer for a

while and did some experements in 'painting' with light??

 

How would I do such a shot??? How would I meter the "little" hand

light to make sure that it will show up on the film the way I want

it to (As a solid line)?? I guess the flash would have to be weaker

than the handheld light so that it doesn't overpower that light,

right?? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

-Chris

I have done similar things in photography class, It is a matter of trial and error. Just start with some randomly chosen aperture and ISO speed and give it a try. We used instant film, I guess that digital has its advantages here.

You mean like <A HREF=http://dsc.gc.cuny.edu/part/part8/articles/gross_3.html> the

portrait of Pablo Picasso by Gjon Mili?</A>It was Mili's idea , but obviously a bravura joint

performance collaboration between Mili and Picasso. I would love to see the outtakes if

they still exist! Evidently this is the mst iconic image of a series of finished

photographs that were published in LIFE magazine and slater shown at the Museum of

Modern Art in New York City.<P>Since the "hand light" is pointing atthe camera you won't

have to really meter it just make sure you pick an aperture/ISO setting that is "bright

enough to trecord the tracing of light. You'll also needto experiment with how fast th

subject moves his or her hand, and you'll needto be careful wih how relatively bright (or

dark) the background is relative to the light source. I strongly suspectthat the brightness

ofthe small flash light in Mili's image maybe have been brought out by some very selective

bleaching of the light's traced path in the finished prints. Basically you need to do what

Mili did and that is to experiment.