Showing parks in a whole new light

Light painting

Unique light painting workshops held in a Wallsend park have been hailed a success.

North Tyneside Council’s Wallsend Parks team joined forces with local light painting expert Ian Hobson to host four     sessions in Richardson Dees Park throughout the month of November.

Light painting, or light drawing, is a photographic technique in which exposures are made by moving a hand-held light source while taking a long exposure photograph, either to illuminate a subject or to shine a point of light directly at the camera.

Graham Robertson, one of the residents who took part in the course, said: “With light painting being a still developing area of photography, it was great that North Tyneside Council partnered with Ian to run this course.

“Opportunities to learn from the experts don’t come along very often and Ian was able to demonstrate the techniques and tools needed to create some stunning and dramatic images.

“I’m already trying out these techniques in my own photography and I would recommend the course to anyone with an interest in photography.”

The workshops featured some of the iconic and unusual features of the park and covered topics such as long exposure, light trails, orbs, domes, and the use of LEDs.

Six of the images produced will form the first exhibition to be displayed in a new outdoor gallery to be placed in the centre of Richardson Dees Park from January.

Ian Hobson has over 20 years of experience in light painting and is highly respected within the online artists’ community. Ian’s workshop allows the participants to create visually stunning and professional works of art, without the need to purchase expensive equipment.

You can visit www.lightpainting.org.uk to see some of Ian’s work.