Instagram story viewer> @daveblackphoto> Posts

Dave Black Photography

@daveblackphoto

35K

followers

128

following

Photographer of Sports and Light/ Educator / Author / @nikonusa / #nikonambassador / @kelbyonepics / @robertscamera / @sandisk /Rewatch AMA-Press ▶️

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

“The Long Ride”... #Nikon #D100, ISO500, 30 seconds at f4, #NIKKOR 14-24mm f2.8 Rectilinear lens, WB 4000K, LIGHTPAINTING with the Brinkmann 2 million-candle Spotlight...Topaz DeNoise AI and Sharpen AI

LIGHTPAINTING & FALL COLLECTION:

Just off of Antelope Flats Road is “Mormon Row” and two barns...the “John Moulton Barn” and the “T.A. Moulton Barn”...both are on the Moulton homestead settled in 1910. Photographers from all over the world travel to Jackson Hole, Wyoming to photograph these two iconic barns with the Teton Range background.

On this cool October night in 2003 I asked my good friend and Jackson Hole resident Scott Carter if he would bring his horse (Dash) out to the “T.A. Moulton Barn” for a special Lightpainting project.

We were all set to make the first Lightpainting when a fierce storm swept-in out of nowhere and we all high-tailed it for the trucks and horse trailer. As fast as the storm appeared it vanished just as quickly. Scott said, “Let’s saddle up Dash again and give’er a second try.

It was past mid-night as I re-setup my tripod and camera...re-focused/re-composed the scene. Scott and Dash held perfectly still as I walked 120 feet OFF-Camera (right)...then, triggered the camera to begin the 30 seconds exposure.

FIRST...I feathered warm Golden-Hour LIGHT from the Brinkmann spotlight on Scott&Dash.
NEXT...the barn’s triangle gable and door...then the tree.
Finally...I skipped Light across the prairie grass...“The Long Ride” was complete.

*My NEW book: “Lightpainting Magic” is expected to be released by Christmas 2026. by @daveblackphoto

45

10

3 days ago

“Chapel of the Transfiguration”... #Nikon #D200, ISO100, 100 seconds at f4, #NIKKOR 24-70mm, WB 4000K, LIGHTPAINTING with the Brinkmann 2 million-candle Spotlight...Topaz DeNoise AI and Sharpen AI

LIGHTPAINTING & FALL COLLECTION:

Everyone who has ever visited Teton National Park has likely stopped by to take a picture of the “Chapel of the Transfiguration” ...and so did I back in 2006.

I was just starting to teach myself how to LIGHTPAINT a LANDSCAPE with a STRUCTURE (subject) in the foreground and pink-purple hue Alpen-Glow on the distant Tetons ...and of course, a few STARS in the morning twilight sky above.

Gee Dave, that’s sounds complicated...and it was! ...Oh, did I mention that the hardest thing about making this kind of Lightpainting is the lack of time needed to make it. I was racing against the clock...and figured there was only 3-5 minutes at most to capture the Alpen-Glow on the Tetons.

As my exposure time was 100 seconds ...a bit long for the stars, but I started inside the church with a 2 seconds blast from the Brinkmann. Then slowly navigate the icy wooden walkway (in the dark) and walk around to an Off-Camera location to Lightpaint the tall grasses and sage. ...AND I finished by throwing some Lightpainting on the Aspen...near and far away. ...There! DONE!! ....And then I did it all a second time...Presto! This is my second try...after that 100 seconds the STARS and Alpen-Glow had faded away.

*My NEW book: “Lightpainting Magic” is expected to be released by Christmas 2026. taken in Grand Teton National Park by @daveblackphoto

46

25

12 days ago

“Steamboat Tee Pee”... #Nikon #D3s, ISO100, 10 seconds at f22, #NIKKOR 24-70mm, WB 5000K, LIGHTPAINTING with Two 2 million-candle Spotlight by: Brinkmann ...Topaz Sharpen AI

Today’s FALL COLLECTION:

Twenty years ago to-this-day I was driving from Colorado Springs to Jackson Hole, Wyoming to teach at my favorite Summit Workshop. I had decided to travel the most scenic route occasionally stopping to make FALL COLLECTION images.

Colorado’s Autumn colors were breathtaking all through the Rockies. Long about 4:30PM I approached the picturesque ski town of Steamboat on HWY 40 and I glanced to the south and saw a Tee Pee high on a distant ridge.

Taking the next exit I drove south, winding my way through ranches searching for the Tee Pee. I arrived atop the ridge at 5:30PM...the Tee Pee was shadowed by the adjacent mountain...PERFECT!

I quickly setup my tripod with NEW D3s...focused/composed and made a MANUAL TEST shot -1.5 under-exposed to “Saturate” the sky/clouds while the Tee Pee and hillside grass remained in dark silhouetted shadow.

Grabbing both Brinkmann’s I scurried up the hillside Off-camera LEFT and stood just out of frame. The late-day sun bathed the clouds over Steamboat in GOLDEN HOUR LIGHT...my plan was to “REVEAL” the subject with my own GOLDEN LIGHT from two Brinkmann’s...

Triggering the D3s via Pocket Wizard I illuminated the south-side of the Tee Pee for 2 seconds...then randomly “skipped LIGHT” across the grassy hillside. I made 3 more images as the sunlit clouds faded.....Voila’

*My NEW book: “Lightpainting Magic” is expected to be released by Christmas 2026. taken in Steamboat, Colorado by @daveblackphoto

40

27

17 days ago

“Autumn Impressions”(main image)... #Nikon #Z9, ISO2000, 1/1250 at f22, #NIKKOR Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR lens, ...In-Camera multiple-exposure Z9 OVERLAY feature @SanDisk

FALL COLLECTION using Nikon’s Z9 with in-camera OVERLAY feature...

I’m looking for something...something special. ...A bridge from my Artistic LIGHTPAINTING to ART. Not AI, but something more free with just my camera. Something spontaneous and full of expression. Something that challenges my imagination and my ability to truly “see”

It was a required PHOTOGRAPHY class for my Graphic Design and Fine Art majors that changed my life to a SPORTS ACTION Photographer...Then came LIGHTING with Speedlights, Strobes and High Speed Sync...And then I discovered LIGHTPAINTING and developed the technique into my own photographic style.

My looking has brought me to Nikon’s in-camera OVERLAY feature and the “unlimited” possibilities to create “ART”

There are 3 artists/painters who’s work I have admired, studied and most recently find my photography leaning toward.

1...Claude Monet: Bridge Over a Pond of Water Lilies
“The light constantly changes, and that alters the atmosphere and beauty of things every minute.” – Claude Monet

2...LeRoy Neiman: Olympic Track ..and.. Joe Namath
“I love the passion you go through while you’re creating” – LeRoy Neiman

3...Winslow Homer: Breezing Up (A Fair Wind)
“There is no such thing as talent. What they call talent is nothing but the capacity for doing continuous work in the right way.” – Winslow Homer

***Leaves are already falling... by @daveblackphoto

64

24

a month ago

“Fall Mosaic” (main image)... #Nikon #Z8, ISO1000, 1/100 at f18, #NIKKOR Z 24-200mm...11 OVERLAYs @SanDisk

Well Dave...You’ve finally LOST YOUR MIND! This #Z8 OVERLAY was created via the In-Camera OVERLAY feature found in the camera’s RETOUCH MENU. At last count I was up to 11 separately captured images of Fall Colors made over 3 weeks that I OVERLAYED one-on-top of the other to eventually arrive at today’s single IG image.

POP ART of the 1960s ...
From Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Cans and Roy Lichtenstein’s comic-book canvases ...the POP ART movement of the 1960s is practically defined by the images that these two iconic artists created and SOLD. And while I do not claim to be as creatively “FAR OUT” as Warhol and Lichtenstein, I am all about “experimenting” and “pushing the boundaries” of my mind and my camera’s capabilities.

No doubt that I probably went too far with 11 OVERLAYED images, but going beyond one’s comfort zone will likely “move the needle” forward on your creativity...and will most certainly help you define what is possible and what is not.

AFTER ALL ...
It’s never been easier or less costly to experiment and see/learn what is possible...what you like and don’t like...and what some people find fascinating and others find confusing. Perhaps author E.A. Bucchianeri said it best when he wrote, “Art is in the eye of the beholder, and everyone will have their own interpretation.”

Luckily, for today’s photographer, digital photography is just the process of using electronic and computing appliances to capture and create digital images/photographs...and rarely is there a critic or photo-editor hovering over us when we are experimenting/pushing your personal creativity and learning what is possibly

*My NEW book: “Lightpainting Magic” is expected to be released in time for Christmas 2026. by @daveblackphoto

40

17

a month ago

“Aspen Turn”...(Main Image) #Nikon #Z8, ISO1600, 1/800 at f11, #NIKKOR Z MC 105mm f2.8 VR S lens, WB 8000K...LIGHTPAINTING using the ProTac HL-X LED flashlight made by: Streamlight... @SanDisk

LIGHTPAINTING & OVERLAYING MY FALL COLLECTION:
Here is a quick step-by-step REVIEW of how to use Nikon’s OVERLAY feature.

This #NikonZ8 picture of a tiny Aspen leaf is actually a Triple-Exposure OVERLAY produced in-camera. The multiple-exposure OVERLAY feature is found in the RETOUCH MENU of most Nikon DSLR cameras and in all of the Nikon Z mirrorless cameras.

In-Camera TRIPPLE-EXPOSURE:
IMAGE 1...Main Image...is a LIGHTPAINTING of a tiny Aspen leaf just beginning to turn Yellow. The previous night rain followed by thick morning mist/fog by the lake left everything soaked...Perfect for Macro details.

Using a ProTac HL-X single LED flashlight of 1,000 Lumens I illuminated only a single leaf, which left the background/other leaves underexposed to complete darkness. This “Dark or “EMPTY” space will allow Image 2.

IMAGE 3...These Teal&Pink leaves were captured last week and will “BLEED” through the Dark-Empty Space during the OVERLAY process. My Teal&Pink image is a slow 1/8 second Pan of my neighbor’s hedge at WB 3030K.

IMAGE 3...Blue Streaks...is also a slow shutter speed Pan of my other neighbors Blue Spruce tree...at 1 second, WB 2500K. I just panned the camera back and forth 6-7 times until I had a single image of sweeping Blue streaks. Now I combine this Image 3 with the double-exposure OVERLAY of Image 1. Aspen leaf and Image 2. Teal&Pink leaves.

FINAL IAMGE:
IMAGE 4...is the completed Triple-Exposure made In-Camera using the Z8 OVERLAY feature. I love this picture as it appears as though the wet/saturated pre-dawn air is dripping all over the Aspen leaf.

*My NEW book: “Lightpainting Magic” is expected to be released in time for Christmas 2026. taken in Colorado, USA by @daveblackphoto

82

29

a month ago

“Gas Station Girl”...#Nikon #D800, ISO500, 30 seconds at f8, #NIKKOR 24-70mm, WB 4000K...Lightpainting with Brinkmann 2 million-candle Spotlight with 10 degree HoneyComb GRID ... @Topazlabs: DeNoise AI, Sharpen AI, and Gigapixel AI, @SanDisk

TODAY’S IG IMAGE:
Seemed like it was just yesterday when Julio...(my long time number 1 assistant/producer) and I were working together in Florida on a commercial Motocross projects using High-Speed-Sync FLASH. So what’s the connection between Sports Action and Lightpainting?? ...LIGHT...photography is always about LIGHT!

As we wrapped up the day’s Motocross job I asked Julio if there was someplace interesting where I could make a Lightpainting. Next thing I know we’re off to an “exceptional” location.

MY LIGHTPAINTING PROCESS:
Meet Kiersten...granddaughter of Robert, the owner of this magical place he calls home...Yep, we are on location in his backyard!

Once I explained what Lightpainting is I asked if Kiersten would like to be the model, and like any teenager, she said: “Absolutely!!”...and she ran off to dress-up.

Kiersten looked “perfect” for the 1950’s scene.
FIRST...I placed one yellow LED in the building to illuminate the window.
NEXT...I used the hand-held Brinkmann spotlight with 10 degree HoneyComb GRID to create “pools” of LIGHT.
THEN...“flickered-feathered” warm Golden light during the 30 seconds exposure on Kiersten, the headlights and signs...and her Red Shoes.
...This, my IG friends is LIGHTPAINTING MAGIC!!!

*My NEW book: “Lightpainting Magic” is expected to be released in time for Christmas 2026. by @daveblackphoto

46

19

2 months ago

“Glenn”...#Nikon #Coolpix 880 (mirrorless), ISO500, 20 seconds at f5.6, Fixed Lens, WB 5000K...Lightpainting with MAG-Light ... @Topazlabs: DeNoise AI, Sharpen AI, and Gigapixel AI, @SanDisk

TODAY’S IG IMAGE:
Waaaaay back in 1999 I had finished a Pre-2000 Olympic shoot with Gymnast/Trampolinist Jennifer Parilla in L.A. and before flying home I stopped-in to visit one of my longtime friends/Gymnastics teammate from college...Glenn Tidwell.

It had been 20 years since our Gymnastics competition days at SIU...(GO Salukis!!!) ...Glenn was now running the family’s Auto Repair business in Long Beach. I got the grand-tour of “Freelance Motors” which included several antique motorcycles hidden waaaaay back in a storage room.
“The Shop” was a perfect setting for my first Location Lightpainting Portrait, to which, Glenn and his 1928 Harley-Davidson FHAD 61-cubic-inch V-twin two-cam factory-built “Hill Climber” was perfectly setup near Glenn’s workbench.

MY LIGHTPAINTING PROCESS:
Rather than shooting film I decided to TEST a NEW consumer DIGITAL camera from #Nikon, the #Coolpix 880 (...mirrorless!)

With the #880 secured on tripod I set the exposure time for 20 seconds. I pre-focused on Glenn and with my Mag-Light in hand (...no LED flashlight on the market in 1999) I turned-OFF the lights and the storage room became pitch-black...I started the exposure and Lightpainted my subject and location. ...Pure LIGHTPAINTING MAGIC!!!

*My NEW book: “Lightpainting Magic” is expected to be released in time for Christmas 2026. by @daveblackphoto

63

28

2 months ago

“Dandelion Colour”...#Nikon #D850, ISO400, 1 minute 30 seconds at f22, NIKKOR 24-70mm lens, WB 5000K...Lightpainting with Stylus LED Penlight by: Streamlight ... @Topazlabs: DeNoise AI, Sharpen AI, and Gigapixel AI, @SanDisk

TODAY’S IG IMAGE:
LIGHTPAINTING is an artistic “Lighting Technique”...Each photographer will develop their own vision of what areas of the composed scene to illuminate (Lightpaint) and what areas to “feather” dim illumination (Lightpainting) that barely illuminates some areas at all. ...A sort of “Less-is-More” approach... Less (Lightpainting)-is-More (effective artistically)

TYPICALLY...My Lightpainting (and Lighting with Flash/Strobe in general) is a Triangle: 1.Camera (#Nikon Z9 mirrorless)...2.Subject (the Dandelions)...3.LIGHT source, whether it’s a single LED penlight...a larger LED flashlight...the Brinkmann 2 million candle Spotlight ...or a FLASH or Strobe. This is typically referred to as: “OFF CAMERA LIGHTING”

MY LIGHTPAINTING PROCESS...
I used a combination of WHITE, BLUE and RED LED penlights along with a WB 5,000K. This “combo” of color created cool Whites and Blues and turned the Red into a Pinkish color. The Stylus LED penlight comes with its own “Snoot” to which I covered the open end with electricians tape and then cut a slight opening using an X-Acto blade. This enabled me to Lightpaint(illuminate) the inside the Head, Seeds, Bristles, Beak, Fruit, Receptacle and Phyllaries.
VOILA’

*My NEW book: “Lightpainting Magic” is expected to be released in time for Christmas 2026. by @daveblackphoto

55

23

2 months ago

“Dodge Light”...#Nikon #D5, ISO2000, 30 seconds at f8, NIKKOR 24-70mm lens, WB 4000K...Lightpainting with Brinkmann 2 million-candle Spotlight and HoneyComb GRID ... @Topazlabs: DeNoise AI, Sharpen AI, and Gigapixel AI, @SanDisk

TODAY’S IG IMAGE:
I have mentioned in past IG posts that Jackson Hole, Wyoming and Teton National Park is my favorite place to spend a week or two making Lightpaintings. Today’s Lightpainting was made at my second most favorite location...Old Car City, just outside of Atlanta.

Acres and acres and acres of old forgotten cars and trucks that are intertwined amongst the overgrown trees, vines and pine-straw of a lonely Georgia forest. Here, a photographer can wander freely looking for pictures. ...I could spend all night there making Lightpaintings...and I have.

*My NEW book: “Lightpainting Magic” is expected to be released in time for Christmas 2026. taken in Old Car City USA by @daveblackphoto

60

22

2 months ago

“Twilight at Eilean Donan Castle”...#Nikon #D800, ISO800, 30 seconds at f20, NIKKOR 24-70mm lens, WB 4000K...Lightpainting with Brinkmann 2 million-candle Spotlight and HoneyComb GRID ... @Topazlabs: DeNoise AI, Sharpen AI, and Gigapixel AI, @SanDisk

TODAY’S IG IMAGE:
You might be thinking; “WOW...This is a big one! For those few FOLLOWERS not familiar with this subject, Eilean Donan Castle rests on a tidal island off the coast of Isle of Skye, SCOTLAND.

Eilean Donan Castle has been featured in several famous movies, most notably Highlander(1986), The World Is Not Enough(1999), and Made of Honor(2008). It’s a fabulous location to photograph...and as usual, I wanted to Lightpaint it. But, as the Sky loomed ominously over the entire castle it suddenly lit up like a Scottish Festival Lantern.

Well, it makes a nice postcard...Then, I noticed the magnificent stone footbridge connected the castle to the mainland was completely lost in the darkness...Uamhasach! (...Shocking! in Gaelic)

With my #Nikon #D800 on tripod, my scene composed and a 30 seconds-exposure set...I pressed the shutter-button/grabbed the Brinkmann equipped with 10 degree GRID and scampered Off-Camera RIGHT.

When the shutter opened I Lightpainted the lengthy expanse of stone bridge...the warm-color of Light from the Brinkmann perfectly matched the tall Castle. Sgoinneil!!! (...Amazing!!! in Scottish Gaelic)

*My NEW book: “Lightpainting Magic” is expected to be released in time for Christmas 2026. by @daveblackphoto

40

14

2 months ago

“Farmland”...#Nikon #D810, ISO800, 30 seconds at f11, NIKKOR 24-70mm lens, WB 4000K...Lightpainting with Brinkmann 2 million-candle Spotlight ... @Topazlabs: DeNoise AI, Sharpen AI, and Gigapixel AI, @SanDisk

TODAY’S IG IMAGE:
This old barn in Niwot, Colorado was the main subject for my own series of Lightpainting Workshops that daughter Haley and I ran from 2011-2015. We would conclude each 3 day workshop with a Large Outdoor Lightpainting Landscape where each student learned to use the famous 2 million-candle handheld spotlight... a.k.a. “The Brinkmann”

With each student’s camera secured on their tripod our small group of 10 waited for the setting sun to illuminate the thin layer of clouds over the neighboring town of Boulder. I would then do a Lightpainting Demonstration having everyone press their own shutter-button to capture my picture. While actively Lightpainting I would explain to the class how&why I apply LIGHT to various areas of the entire scene.

THEN... it was each students turn to use “The Brinkmann” and make their own Large Landscape Lightpainting...immediately followed by my critique/advise...followed by a second Lightpainting attempt with the hope of making noted improvements.

WHAT FUN...watching each student as they worked through the scene, adding LIGHT here-there-and sometime everywhere. Then PRESTO! ...their own Lightpainting would appear on the LCD screen with Cheers for the students.

*My NEW book: “Lightpainting Magic” is expected to be released in time for Christmas 2026. taken in Niwot, Colorado by @daveblackphoto

55

23

3 months ago