Tokihiro Sato

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  wholenewlight Registered Users Posts: 1,529 Major grins

  June 17, 2005 edited June 17, 2005

  I didn't see a link for his pics but I did a little searching and found a few good links:
  
  http://www.tonkonow.com/sato.html
  
  http://photoarts.com/gallery/SATO/satoexh.html
  
  http://www.hainesgallery.com/Main_Pages/Artist_Pages/TSAT.work.html
  
  http://www.universes-in-universe.de/car/havanna/centro/e_sato.htm
  
  Here's somewhat of an eplaination of his technique:
  "Using an eight-by-ten-inch camera set on a tripod, he makes lengthy exposures in which he enters the frame of the landscape, waving around a flashlight (by night) or pausing periodically with a mirror that reflects sunlight back at the camera (by day). These brighter lights are recorded as traces of his presence, but he himself is rendered invisible by his motion during the course of the hour-long exposure. The contemplative and somewhat otherworldly pictures that result are literally "photo-graphs," a term derived from the Greek words for light and drawing. "
  
  As to your question, "How does he do that without over exposing?", I imagine he is using a very dark neutral density filter. A dark enough "gray" filter and you can have long exposure even in daylight.

  john w
  

  http://cspics.smugmug.com/

  
  I knew, of course, that trees and plants had roots, stems, bark, branches and foliage that reached up toward the light. But I was coming to realize that the real magician was light itself.
  Edward Steichen
  
  

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  asd Registered Users Posts: 115 Major grins

  June 17, 2005 edited June 17, 2005

  Interesting photos. My brother and I played around light-painting outdoor scenes at night awhile back (it's very fun), but Sato's stuff is magnitudes better. Nice find.

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  Steve Cavigliano Super Moderators Posts: 3,599 moderator

  June 17, 2005 edited June 17, 2005

  Wow!! I've seen "painting with light" before, but Sato takes it to new extremes. The distances he covers is amazing
  
  
  This technique can be easily applied at home A PWL artist, whose images I really enjoy, does still life stuff. If interested check it out here
  
  
  Steve

  SmugMug Support Hero

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  karuzo Registered Users Posts: 23 Big grins

  June 18, 2005 edited June 18, 2005

  Thanks all

  Thanks,
  karuzo
  http://karuzo.smugmug.com
  'Good photographers never die, they just get replaced'

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  rutt Registered Users Posts: 6,511 Major grins

  June 19, 2005 edited June 19, 2005

  Here is another artist using very long exposures.
  
  http://www.moma.org/exhibitions/2004/Michael_Wesely_11-20-04.html
  
  I've been trying to figure out how this works. If someone owns the catalog, perhaps it says.
  
  It would be easier to do this with digital, I think. Take an new shot from exactly the same perspective every day (hour, minute, second, whatever) and then blend afterwards to get the desired effect.

  If not now, when?

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  ziggy53 Super Moderators Posts: 23,873 moderator

  June 20, 2005 edited June 20, 2005

  Please don't think of this as extreme criticism, but while I looked at Tokihiro Sato's work, I was thinking how much easier and how much more control you could get doing the same thing digitally with PhotoShop or similar.
  
  
  I realize that an artist slaves over processes like this and that they prefer to think of the extended process as added value, but I rather think differently. I think that the effect is interesting, but "needs" the extra control to help control the definition of shape, and that might make a better image.
  
  Again, I am not trying to diminish Tokihiro as an artist. I appreciate what he does and I think it very interesting as it is. (I bet a ton of his work never makes it to public viewing because it is so difficult.)
  
  Any thoughts or examples of something similar?
  
  ziggy53

  ziggy53
  Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums

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