The Apparitions series began in 2013 with the desire I had to create a Light Painting series of Angelic Beings within magical landscapes. The first challenge I had was the difficulty of getting a model to come along whenever inspiration struck. My Light Painting process is not fun for the average person, its takes a long time for me to create an image that I am satisfied with. I will sometimes shoot for several nights in row without getting a single image that I am happy with. Finding models with the time or desire to spend that kind of time to possibly create one image is difficult. Not to mention finding a model that is willing to deal with the elements of bugs, weather, and the general anxiety that being in a dark desolate location alone at night can bring.

Eliminating the possibility of a model for this series set forth my greatest challenge, finding a light source and creating a technique that would allow me to create luminous beings at will. It was very important to me to find a light source that would allow me to create my Apparitions in a way that I felt was consistent with the true spirit of the Light Painting Artform. I believe light as a medium should be free, it should not constricted or confined. For this series I tried to really dive into my belief by merely guiding the light into the forms, allowing for the free flow of the Apparitions and embracing the unintentional light streaks that happen within all of my Light Paintings.

The Light Painting tool that I finally settled on for this series was Electroluminescent Wire. I used several different colors of electroluminescent wire taped and spliced together to create multiple color Apparitions. For the landscape lighting I used the Light Painting Brushes Hood and Color Filter Set to selectively illuminate parts of the scene to give the image a feeling as if the Apparitions were emitting light within their space.

The Apparitions Series was created in State and National Parks up and down the East Coast of the United Stated from South Florida to North Carolina over the course of 2 years. Some of the locations included Jonathan Dickinson State Park (Florida), Amicalola Falls State Park (Georgia), Jekyll Island (Georgia), and the Pisgah National Forest (North Carolina).

All of the images in the Apparitions series were created in real time and captured to the camera in one single photographic frame. The exposure times range from 102 second to over 9 minutes.

The gear that I used for this series was a Canon 50D and 60D, an Intervalometer, SLIK Tripod, Electroluminescent Wire, Coast Flashlights, and Light Painting Brushes.