Omni-directional Light Painting with Mini LED Camp Lanterns

Lighting the underneath side of natural arches like Mesa Arch (Canyonlands Nat'l Park, Utah) is the perfect application for omni-directional mini LED camp lanterns. © Royce Bair

Wayne Pinkston photographed the Milky Way with this cottonwood tree at the bottom of a sandstone pothole, during a workshop I was conducting in Grand Staircase-Escalante Nat'l Monument. Once again, I used an omni-directional mini LED camp lantern, placed near the bottom of this 60 feet (18 m.) deep pothole. (Wayne has a new version of this photo, you may like even better.) See the pre-dusk lighting preparations, below. © Wayne Pinkston

Preparing a string of tied-together mini LED camp lanterns and lowering them into the 60 feet (18 m.) deep pothole, just before dusk. The last few feet of orange nylon rope is traded for transparent monofilament (the kind used for fishing) and tied to a large rock, and placed behind the photographers so it cannot be seen in our photos. Photographers then prepare to shoot during the "blue hour" twilight. Once this is done, two of the three lights are turned off, as only one is need for full Astronomical Dusk photography with the stars. Click photos to enlarge. Photos by Eugene Louie and Royce Bair

Camp lanterns cast light in all directions (omni-directional, or almost 360 degrees). They are one of the three types of lights I discuss and demonstrate in my Milky Way NightScapes eBook. The other two are LED panel lights and spotlights. Spotlights have very narrow beams with high intensity, and must be kept moving during the camera exposure process. Panel lights and camp lantern lights are wide-angle coverage lights that can be stationary during the camera's exposure.

Problems with most LED camp lanterns. There are two major problems I have with most LED camp lanterns when using them for NightScape style photography: 1.) Most LED lights are too cold or bluish. To make them usable, I usually have to wrap an orange conversion filter around the lantern. Without the filter, their output is typically between 5600º Kelvin (a little bluer than daylight) to 8000º Kelvin (very blue). This does not match the camera White Balance I like to use for starry night photography, which is between 3800º to 4400º Kelvin. By the way, scientists have also proven that the bluish LED lights cause more eye fatigue—something to consider if you plan to do a lot of night reading in your tent.  2.) Most LED lanterns are too bright. When you are working with high ISO's between 3200 and 6400, you do not need a lot of light to exposure your foreground features. (Wayne Pinkston and I like to call this Low Level Landscape Lighting or LLL. In most cases, we are only trying to match the brightness of the stars.) Most LED camp lanterns only have two brightness settings. Even at the lower setting, I typically have to wrap several layers of translucent, white cloth around the lantern in order to make these older lanterns dim enough for NightScape style photography.

Sunset Arch, in Grand Staircase-Escalante Nat'l Monument was lit underneath with two older style mini LED camp lanterns that had to be filtered to 3200º K and wrapped with several layers of white, translucent fabric in order to dim their bright light output. © Royce Bair

The "Shane Cabin" near Kelly, Wyoming (used in the 1953 movie, "Shane") was also lit inside with three older style mini LED camp lanterns that had to be filtered to 3200º K and wrapped with several layers of white, translucent fabric in order to dim their bright light output. © Royce Bair 

LED Camp Lanterns Compared 2011 - 2016: 1.) GE Chromalit 3D lantern, circa 2011. 300 lumens output, powered by eight D-cell batteries (very heavy), but could last for up to 200 hours in its low setting. All of the following are considered "mini" lanterns, except for #6, which is a "micro" lantern.  2.) Life Gear Glow lantern, circa 2012, white (very blue) and red LEDs, 25 lumens.  3.) CREE XLamp Warm White LED Camping Lantern, circa 2013. Output 110 lumens on high. The low setting is capable of 48 hours run time, using 3 AA batteries. It's light usually warm enough to not require filtration, but even at low power it often required several layers of white fabric to dim it enough for starry night photography.  4.) Ozark Trail LED Lantern, circa 2014. This original Walmart product produced 50 lumens on high (the current model produces 75 lumens). Its 25 lumens low setting allowed it to run for 28 hours on 3 AA batteries. It is show here with an orange conversion filter that I’ve wrapped around it. Even with it’s low setting, the lantern usually requires 2 to 4 layers of white fabric for dimming. This lamp was used in the top photo of Mesa Arch—hung from a 20-40 feet of rope until the underneath glow of the arch look right.  5.) Goal Zero Lighthouse Mini Lantern, 2015. (See full description below.)  6.) Goal Zero Lighthouse Micro Lantern, 2016. (See full description below.) Click image to enlarge.

My two favorite LED camp lanterns. Recently, I have begun to use some of the newer miniature camp lantern lights that have been appearing on the market. Two of my favorites are both made by the incredibly innovative Goal Zero, the "Power-Anything-Anywhere" company. These preferences are the Lighthouse Mini Lantern and the recently introduced Lighthouse Micro USB Rechargeable Lantern.

Goal Zero Lighthouse Mini Lantern: The key features for photographers are its warm, 3500ºK light output and its infinite number of dimmable selections. Although it will put out a bright 210 lumens, it can be dimmed to about 7 lumens! You can also choose to operate only one side of the lantern (180 degree coverage), or choose to use both sides of the lantern (360 degrees). With these options, and the dimmer, the battery can last from 4 to 500+ hours (about 26 days)! The powerful (3000 mAh) and rechargeable Li-ion battery (via a built-in USB cord) is also capable of recharging your mobile phone or a GoPro camera via a USB outlet. Four power indicator lights let you know the charge status of its replaceable battery. Watch this video for more unique engineering features. View the complete PDF user guide. Price: $59.99 - ORDER direct from Goal Zero

FREE SHIPPING Alert: Receive Free Shipping for a limited time only on orders of $49+ at Goal Zero. Offer Valid 3/27/17 12AM MT - 3/29/17 11:59PM MT.

Click image to ENLARGE

Goal Zero Lighthouse Micro USB Rechargeable Lantern: The key photography features for this lantern are similar to the mini — a warm, 3800ºK light output that is completely dimmable. It's maximum brightness is 150 lumens and it can be dimmed to about 7 lumens! You can choose to operate only two of it's four LEDs or all four, and infinitely dim them. The Li-ion battery can last from 7 to 170 hours, depending on the number of LEDs you choose and how much you decide to dim them. Although the battery is not replaceable (like the mini) it can be recharged hundreds of times via a built-in USB charging tip (that folds inside when not in use). Four  blue indicator lights let you know the charge status of the battery. The lantern is also waterproof, with an IPX7 rating. Although the Micro is not as versatile as the Mini, its benefits include lower price and a remarkably small size. View the complete PDF user guide. Price: $19.99 - ORDER direct from Goal Zero

(You can also order the Lighthouse Micro Flash model, which includes a built-in flashlight, for only $5 more.)

Popular Links: How to Shoot the Milky Way • Post Processing NightScapes • Workshops and PhotoWalks • Tutorials and Tips • Overcoming Lens Coma • Video Hangout with my Friends

Lighting the historic Enola Gay Hangar

A night photo of the Enola Gay Hangar at the historic Wendover Airfield, Utah. This hangar is 200 x 200 feet, plus offices on the left and right sides. Exposure: f/4.0 • 10 seconds • ISO 1600 • White Balance = 4000º K. (Click image to enlarge)

Last week's NightScapeWalk was supposed to include two free photo walks shooting the Milky Way. We tried, but cloudy conditions prevailed. Light painting the historic Enola Gay Hangar was our backup plan in case of cloudy weather, and on this shoot we were in total control.

During WWII this airfield had over 600 buildings with barracks that housed almost 20,000 servicemen and civilian workers. This 200 x 200 feet hangar was built in 1943 to house and maintain two B-29 Superfortress bombers at a time, one of which (the Enola Gay) went on to drop the first atomic bomb. Although the hangar has deteriorated over time, restoration work has refurbish the west side of the hanger and the side offices.

A cropped enlargement of the top photo shows our airport security man, Ed Nelson, standing at the partially open hangar door with a Grumman HU-16 Albatross in the background. The HU-16 is currently in temporary storage in the hangar. It is an amphibious flying boat, introduced in 1947: 63 ft length. 97 ft wingspan, with two 1,425 hp Wright engines.

Lighting set up for the Enola Gay Hangar - click image to enlarge

Lighting set up for the Enola Gay Hangar is shown above. The L1 key light was an AlienBees B1600 flash unit, using a special Long-Throw (28º) reflector. That flash unit was fired once (at 1/2 power) during the 10-seconds time exposure. The telephoto reflector is not only to increase the efficiency of the flash, but it enabled us to NOT hit the Albatross plane with any stray light. L2 was a Snap-on brand LED Worklight. This lit the Albatross and the inside of the hangar. It's 46 LED's produce 2,000 lumens of light, using only 25 watts! Both the AlienBees flash unit and the Snap-on Worklight were powered by a Vagabond Mini Lithium portable power source. L3, L4 and L5 are Z96 LED Panel Lights that I have demonstrated here many times in the past.

Daytime view inside the hangar: The Grumman HU-16 Albatross looks pretty small inside this huge hangar that was built to house and service two B-29's at the same time.  (The Grumman has a wingspan of 97 ft vs. the 141 ft of the B-29. The amphibious is powered by two 1,425 hp Wright radial engines vs. the B-29's four 2,200 hp Wright radial engines.) You can see the restoration work that has been done to the back one-fifth (west side) of the hangar along with the north and south offices (the north offices are behind the Albatross). Click image to enlarge.

 

Milky Way over Fruita Schoolhouse - Capitol Reef National Park, Utah

Final image is a blend of two exposures and several post processing steps in Photoshop ~ © Royce Bair

NightScape Exposing and Post Processing Tutorial. Last autumn I photographed the historic, 1896 one-room Fruita schoolhouse in Capitol Reef National Park. Here is a step-by-step tutorial of that process.

A quick overview shows the original camera raw exposure on the left. The second image is with a Photoshop Curves adjustment to the sky. The middle image shows a very long exposure to record foreground detail from starlight. The fourth image is a Photoshop layer blend of the two previous images. The final image shows building perspective adjustments and minor color changes. © Royce Bair (click image to enlarge)

Image #1. Original camera raw exposure with light painting. F/2.8 • 20 seconds • ISO 6400 • 3800ºK White Balance. Two Z96 LED panel lights were used to do stationary light painting (during the 20" exposure) on the schoolhouse —one was about 100 feet away, to the left, and the other was behind the building, shining through a window to simulate a kerosene lantern inside the schoolhouse. Orange filters (3200ºK) over the lights were used to create a warm color balance. Light intensity on the schoolhouse was reduced by a -2 EV (using the dimmer switches on the panel lights). Canon 5D Mark III with Tamron 15-30mm lens @ 15mm.  © Royce Bair

Image #2. The night sky has been selected and a contrast producing S-Curve adjustment has been applied via Photoshop's Curves (using a Curves adjustment layer).  © Royce Bair

Image #3. A second exposure was made only minutes after the first exposure. This exposure is for additional foreground and landscape detail, and is made using only starlight —the panel lights were turned off. The exposure was f/4.0 (for added depth of field) • 785 seconds (with long exposure noise reduction turned on) • ISO 3200 • 3800ºK White Balance. Note star trails in the overexposed sky.  © Royce Bair

Image #4. A blend of the starlight exposure (selecting only the foreground portion) and Image #2. The blend is made using Photoshop layers. © Royce Bair

Image #5. Final image is partially corrected for keystone distortion that comes from aiming a wide angle lens upwards to include more sky in one's composition. Correction is via Photoshop's Edit > Transform > Distort menu. Partial correction causes some cropping of the image. Full correction can produce an architecturally correct image that is not always aesthetically pleasing —which also results in even more cropping to the image. Some additional color correction was added to this final image. More technical details and explanations for shooting, planning, and processing are in my e-Book. © Royce Bair

 

Z96 LED Light Panel for Night Photography

The Z96 LED Video Light can be used as both a main (key) light and a fill light by adjusting
the dimmer switch. The key light is on a stationary light stand 100 feet to the left, and the fill
light is on a light stand 40 feet to the right.
(Single exposure of Zion's "Little Tree" - Zion N.P. ~ © Royce Bair)

The versatile Z96 LED Light Panel was designed as both a video light for camcorders and as a light for DSLR photography, where it is placed above the camera on the hot shoe. However, I have found it to be an excellent light for stationary light painting in my astro-landscape night photography. I've used it at distances up to 500 feet to light many landscape features.

Stationary Light Painting. Flashlights and spotlights are often used in light painting, but their narrow beams require considerable "painting" skill to overlap each stroke of the light "brush", in order to make the light even. The Z96 has nine rows of 16 LED lights (96 total), producing more of a flood light pattern (about 65º beam angle). This broader light source allows me to place the light on a light stand, tripod, or more often than not, just on the ground, leaning against a rock —pointing towards a landscape feature, and leaving it unattended.

The Z96's broad angle of coverage makes a great unattended fill light, to soften or lighten the harsh shadows created by a stronger main light. Often, that main light will be a handheld, moving spotlight. Sometimes, I'll use two Z96's —one set on full power, and the other dimmed as the fill light, similar the the top photo in Zion National Park. In other cases, I'll use it as the only artificial light source, like I did in the Temple of the Moon photo, below.

The top photo has no light painting. The bottom photo is lit with one Z96, placed 500 feet
to the left of the 270 feet high monument. (Single exposure of the Temple of the Moon,
Cathedral Valley, Capital Reef N.P., Utah ~ © Royce Bair)

The advantage of unattended lighting (or "stationary light sculpting", as I like to call it), is that you can concentrate on making other adjustments to your image, such as composition. Stationary lighting also allows one to do time lapse photography, where every frame must have the same lighting, or the video will flickr. It is also useful in panoramic night scenes where all the images must have the same foreground lighting, if they are to match when stitched together.

The Z96 LED Video Light Panel is very compact. It come with a screw-on adjustable
mounting head/bracket and two magnetic snap-on filters (dollar bill not included)

Compact and Adjustable: The Z96 is extremely compact (5 x 1.8 x 3") and adaptable. It comes with an adjustable mounting head or bracket that allows slide-on mounting to a DSLR hot shot or to any 1/4" treaded device, i.e. a tripod or a light stand. It also comes with two magnetic snap-on filters —one is for diffusion and the other is an orange filler that converts the 5600º Kelvin LED lights to 3200º K. I usually leave both the diffusion and the orange filter on the Z96 for my NightScape photos. That's because I typically shoot my images with a 4000º K White Balance. This gives my skies a slightly bluish hue and the 3200º K light sources gives my foreground subjects and slightly warmer hue that contrasts nicely with the night sky.

Back and front view of the Z96 (pocket tripod no included)

Variable Light Intensity: The Z96 has a maximum light output of 800 Lux (at 1 meter). The dimmer switch on the back of the Z96 allows 0-100% light intensity. This is probably my most used feature. Except for long-distance landscape features, I rarely us this light panel at full power. For features that are less than 100 feet away, the light intensity is usually dimmed to less that one-half or one-quarter strength. That's because it doesn't take much light when you are using high ISO's in the range of 3200 to 6400 to photograph stars as points of light.

Power and light duration: Because LEDs are low consumers of electrical power, the manufacturer claims the Z96 can run for about 70 minutes at full power, using five AA batteries as a power source.  

Low Power Warning: If you have the Z96 dimmer switch set to full power and the batteries do not have enough strength to power the lights at that intensity, the lights will begin to flicker (go on and off), giving you notice that you must dim to a lower intensity. This annoying feature is actually a benefit to maintaining consistent exposure control . It lets you know that you don't have enough power to maintain that light intensity and camera exposure (very important in video recording and time lapse photography). If you are doing a time lapse, you'll want to read below and make sure you have the proper power source in order to maintain a consistent light intensity and avoid the flicker warning.

Alkaline vs. NiMH: In my tests, fresh AA alkalines typically last about 20 minutes, at full power, before the Z96 started to flicker. If one sets dimmer at 1/2 power, the lights will run for about 45 minutes before the unit starts to flickr. Set the dimmer at 1/4 power and it will run for about 1.5-hours before you get a flicker.

7.4 volt NP-F770 Lithium-ion battery

To avoid the flicker or constant re-adjustment of the light intensity via the dimmer switch, I use rechargeable NiMH batteries. I have found that NiMH batteries give me a more consistent power source than alkaline batteries (I use the 2300 mAh Energizer rechargeable). Alkaline batteries start out strong, but slowly weaken over a two hour period. The NiMH AA's start strong and remain at peak output for about 45 minutes (three times longer than alkaline), then quickly weaken near the end of their power. If you set the dimmer stitch at 1/2 power, you can get about 2-hours of consistent (flicker-less) light using NiMH batteries.

Lithium-ion Batteries: A Sony style 7.4 volt NP-F770 lithium-ion battery can be snapped on to the outside of battery compartment door and give you full (non-flicker) power for about 3-hours. At 1/2 power, the light will remain consistent for about six hours. This is a great option for long time lapse sequences.

Various LED Light Panel Brands: Litepanels was the original company that started making LED panel lights back in 2001. Their original 96 LED design sold for $400. Today's 96 LED Litepanels Micropro design sells for $350.

F&V Lighting is another quality manufacturer of panel lights. F&V makes the Z96 LED Video Light. Over the last 10 years, F&V has invested heavily in applying the advancements of LED technology to photographic and video applications, i.e. LUX/mAh efficiency and color rendering (CRI). I bought my first F&V Z96 Video Light through Calumet (labeled as their model CF9020) for $199. It has been a very reliable unit. Until recently, F&V has continued to sell the original Z96 ($169). This unit is currently being replaced by the Z96 UltraColor ($199), which has a higher color consistency (a CRI of 95).

BUYER BEWARE! These two units look exactly the same, except for the Calumet branding label
on the left unit. The Calumet was made by F&V, but the unit on the right is a Chinese counterfeit!

Both have the same "HDV-Z96" model number in the top left and the "Made by F&V"
molded into the bottom right of the units.

BEST Chinese Knock-off for less than $100: There are many Chinese panel light knock-offs at much lower prices, some even at the $20-$40 price range, and you might be tempted to buy one of these units. I even found a high-quality knock-off for about $95 that looks exactly like the F&V Z96 (I have two of these, in addition to my Calumet branded original). It even says that it is made by F&V, but the unit does NOT have the low power warning circuitry (light flickering), nor is its light color temperature the same as the authentic product. I contacted F&V and found out that their Z96 is one of the most counterfeited lighting products on the market because of its popularity and length of time that it has been in the photo marketplace!

NOTE: You might think that not having the power warning circuitry (light flickering) may be a plus, because the annoying flicker (on and off) would ruin a time lapse sequence, and you'd be right. But, having your foreground feature become darker (as the light intensity diminishes) would be just as annoying in your final time lapse video. However, if you never plan to do time lapse (or star trails), nor do you need exact color rendering (not as important for night landscape as it is for portrait and wedding photography), then this high-quality $95 counterfeit might still be a good fit for you. (The two I have do an excellent job for night photography, albeit their light color rendition just a touch more pink or magenta than the original unit.)

 

Omni-directional Light Painting by Shayne Shaw

"Golden Turret" - Light painted Turret Arch, in Arches National Park ~ © Shayne Shaw
Sony A7R with a Bower 14mm f/2.8 @ f/2.8, 20 sec, ISO 6400. Stationary light-painted with
one F&V Z96 LED light panel on the outside and one CREE XLamp on the inside of the arch.

CREE XLamp

In several recent posts I've talked about the benefits of stationary light painting and using omni-directional lights like the GE Chromalit and the Life Gear mini LED lanterns to cast light in all directions. These are great for lighting the interiors of old buildings and inside natural arches. The best omni-directional lights typically have LED bulbs, so they are very cold or blue in their white balance rendering. Until now, I've had to resort to using gels or filters taped over the lights. Shayne Shaw has discovered a warmer and compact LED light that solves this problem. He is using the CREE XLamp Warm White LED Camping Lantern (CREE 40426 - 110 Lumens). It's small in size (5" x 2" x 2.5", uses 3 AA batteries (Alkaline Duracell batteries are included), and has long battery life: 24 hours on High, 48 hours on Low, 55 hours on Flashing mode.

Shayne Shaw has been on two of my NightScape workshops, but has gone on to produce his own night works, with some going way beyond what I have taught him. I'll let Shayne tell how his Turret Arch image was created:

"This image had been planned out for a couple of months. Because of excessive clouds, an attempt to shoot Turret arch and the North and South Windows arches earlier in summer was unsuccessful. For my return visit a couple of months later I had envisioned getting a unique angle of Turret arch with a nice glow on the underside of the arch.  I knew exactly which lights I wanted to use and where I wanted to locate them. I knew I could use a Cree LED lantern set on the low setting to get the glow under the arch and the F&V Z96 LED light panel with the amber filter plate to light up the face of the arch. To my disappointment though, when I opened my bag with all my lights I noticed that I had left the amber filter plate to the Z-96 light at home, (about 4 hours away). I was really hoping to get the nice warm glow the plate adds to the white LED light.  Grudgingly, I decided to shoot the shot as planned, anyway.  To my delight, when I took a look at the first shot to see how the composition and lighting were turning out, I noticed how using the whiter light on the brown colored face of the rock actually helped make the warm glow of the arch stand out even more —making a much more dramatic shot than it would have been had I used the amber filter on the Z96!"

Here are two other night images Shayne shot, using the CREE XLamp on the inside of old buildings, with the Z-96 light panels to light the outside:

"Cisco House" ~ © Shayne Shaw • Sony A7R with a Bower 14mm f/2.8 @ f/2.8, 20 sec, ISO 6400.
Stationary light-painted with one F&V Z96 LED light panel on the outside (without amber filter to keep
outside of house looking white) and one CREE XLamp set in the doorway between two rooms of the house.

"Park City mining house" ~ © Shayne Shaw • Nikon D7000 with a Tokina 11-17mm at 11mm, f/2.8, ISO 1600.
Eighty 30-sec exposures blended together using Waguila Star trail stacker in Photoshop. Two CREE XLamps
were set in two different rooms of the house. An F&V Z96 light panel was used on the outside with the
amber filter to get a warm brown look from the aging wood of the house.

Shayne Shaw owns an industrial electrical design company called Redrock Electrical Design. He  also has a photography company called Beyond Infinity Photography specializing in commercial/industrial architectural photography and landscapes (www.beyondinfinityphoto.com). Shayne likes night photography because of the extra challenges shooting at night creates, but mostly because he likes how shooting almost anything at night can add intrigue, mysticism, and a special beauty that shooting in the daylight just can’t match. “You know you really nailed it when people ask 'Is this Real?',” says Shayne.

Stationary Light Painting

Milky Way over granite pinnacles in the Alabama Hills - Tuttle Creek Canyon area ~ © Royce Bair
There are five battery-powered LED (with color filters) lights hidden among the rocks, and
another battery-powered main (or "key") light 300 feet to the right of this scene.
Canon 5D Mark III • Rokinon 24mm f/1.4 lens @ f/2.0 • 13" • ISO 5000

Stationary Light "Painting" sounds like an oxymoron. The very definition of light painting refers to hand held, moving lights. However, the problem with moving lights is inconsistency —it's virtually impossible to get the same results for each exposure.

Traditional light painting allows one to cover a large area with a small light, by moving the light back and forth (painting) during a long exposure. Good results are somewhat by chance and hard to repeat. However, it's this experimental randomness that can produce quirky and happy "mistakes" —considered "artistic" by some.

Lighting for Panoramas, Time Lapse and Group Photography: With all the challenges of astro-landscape photography, that are plenty of variables to manipulate and prove one's artistic abilities without having to deal with foreground lighting inconsistencies, especially if you are doing panoramas or time lapse photography. In panoramas, the foreground in each exposure must be lighted the same or the objects will not blend properly when stitched together. In time lapse sequences, the foreground lighting in each frame or exposure must be exactly the same the video will flicker. (In these time lapse scenes by Mike Darter, the only flicker comes from errant red headlamps being turned on, and me setting up the lights in the beginning exposures.)

When I light paint a landscape foreground for a workshop group, stationary or "sculptured" lighting, as I like to call it, allows the participates to move around and concentrate more on composition. They are not hampered by having to be in sync with the timing of the painting, only to discover later that their best compositions were paired with a bad painting sequence.

Despite the obvious advantages of sculptured lighting, I do both stationary (here's a step-by-step example) and traditional light painting (example), depending on the need and look I'm trying to create.

This is one of several "key" or main light set-ups I use in my stationary or "sculptured" lighting.
Everything but the sandbag (5.) is available through Paul C. Buff, Inc. (1.) 11-inch Long Throw (28º)
Silver Reflector. (2.) AlienBees B1600 Flash Unit. (3.) Vagabond Mini Lithium (true sine wave
portable power source for 120 volt AC). (4.) Light stand. (5.) Sandbag. (6.) Bag for B1600. (7.) Bag for
Vagabond. (8.) Closeup of Vagabond. (9) Closeup of B1600 Flash Unit back — flash and model light
power are variable from full to 1/32 power. Modeling light is the light source for most of my NightScapes.

Quartz Halogen Lights and Lithium Powered Inverters, such as the highly efficient and light weight Vagabond Mini (through Paul C. Buff, Inc.) are a great way to provide about two hours of constant main or "key" lighting. The new Vagabond Lithium Extreme can easily provide about three hours of constant light. Although these units are made for powering studio size flash units like the 640 Ws B1600 (providing up to 500 full-power flashes), it is the use of the quartz halogen modeling light (without the flash) that I am employing here.

The flash unit will accept quartz halogen bulbs up to 150-watts, but 100-watt and even 60-watt bulbs are often more practical. In the top photo of the Alabama Hills, I used a 150-watt bulb reduced to 1/8 power (even at a distance of about 300 feet from the pinnacles). When you are shooting star-scapes at ISO's of 3200 to 6400, it is surprising how little light is needed in the foreground to balance with the sky exposure!

Quartz Halogen for the main light is preferred over LED's for two reasons: 1. Since many nightscape shooters photograph the starry night sky with a White Balance of 3000º Kelvin to 3500º Kelvin, the halogen lights are already at a similar color balance, and the more you dim these lights, the warmer they go —adding a pleasant contrast to the cool night sky. 2. Halogens can more easily be focused and controlled than LED's. Using the 11-inch Long Throw Silver Reflector allows me to set my main light at greater distances (with less light loss), thus reducing the light fall-off from one side of the picture frame to the other.

Large and Super-size Landscapes: The above unit can easily light most large landscape foregrounds with just the use of the modeling light. For super-size landscapes, the powerful studio flash can be employed; albeit, with the strobe, one no longer has the advantage of a constant light source.

Accent and Fill Lighting: To soften (fill) shadows cast by the main light, I often place omni-directional LED lights, such as lanterns, near the camera position, or opposite the main light. Miniature LED lanterns can also be used as accent lights, such as those hidden among the rocks in the top photo. In most cases, the LED lanterns must be gelled or filtered with yellow, orange or red filters in order to reduce their 8000º - 10000º Kelvin "bluish" output to a much warmer offering. The big advantage of LED technology is their low power consumption. Most will operate at full power for six or more hours on alkaline batteries.

The GE Chromalit 3D Super Bright White LED Technology lanterns have a low, medium and high
setting (260 lumens), with a built-in yellow filter, so it's warmer (about 4000º K) than most LEDs.
Even so, I often need to gel it with warming filters. Four alkaline D batteries will power
this lantern up to 50 hours! Available at Costco, Amazon and eBay for $20 to $30.

These mini LED lanterns by Life Gear are an in house brand of Walmart, and usually cost only $5.00
each. They produce 25 lumens of bluish-white light that typically must be gelled for best white balance.
However, their most common use for me is in their red LED mode, as an accent light (no need to filter).
In many cases I need even less red light, so I set them to flashing mode, where their rapid intermittent
red glow yields about 50% less light during a time exposure. Powered by 3 AAA alkaline batteries.

Warming Gels / Filters for LED Lights: The filters I use over the GE Chromalit lantern are cut from a single, 20" x 24" sheet of Rosco Roscolux #13 Straw Tint. You can buy the Rosco (or Lee brand) sheets through most local theatrical supply stores. A deeper orange color is needed to warm the cooler mini lanterns from Lite Gear, or you can just add another layer of the Straw Tint. A Roscolux Swatchbook can help you choose the colors you want to use for your next lighting project.

Super Portable Key Light: In a future post, I'll show you an LED panel light (for under $100) that can be used as a main light for many medium-sized landscape foregrounds.

Royce's 2014 Workshop, Lecture & Video Conference Schedule: NightScapeEvents.com