Every time I’ve shown people photos from one of my light painting shoots, the response is the same – “Wow!” And most photographers follow that up with, “I wish I knew how to do that.” Well, now’s your chance. A deep dive, hands-on, into that and much, much more. Better yet, it will all take place on location at an old iron mill in the south that dates from the late 1800s.

This coming March, in Birmingham, AL, I’m offering a four-day workshop that includes:

• Classroom sessions on:
  • Light painting.
  • Low-level lighting.
  • Night photography.
  • How to edit those photos.
  • And workflow.
• Three days and evenings at Sloss Furnaces, a massive industrial site and National Historic Landmark, where I’ve arranged with staff there to have access both early and late, outside of normal operating hours.

• A large, private conference room on site, which we’ll work out of and where we’ll hold our classes.
• A second instructor, Meg McKinney, a local professional photographer who’s led several smaller classes at Sloss.
• Hands-on shoots where Meg and I will show you how to do both light painting and low-level lighting.
• Extra light painting gear (lights, stands, etc.), so participants can borrow some to create their own shoots.
• While the main focus of this workshop is what we can do at night and indoors with lighting, we’ll also have time to explore the site both early and late in natural light.
• Plus, one day off-site, giving us a chance to photograph some other subjects in the area at Oak Mountain State Park and Jackson Lake Island (where a fictional small town, Spectre, was built as a movie set for the filming of “Big Fish”).

This workshop differs from most of the photo trips I lead. It’s less expensive because participants will arrange their own lodging and provide their own transportation. I also don’t normally offer any classroom instruction, but thanks to the excellent facilities at Sloss Furnaces, I’ll do that there. And while I always try to include at least one night/light painting shoot during each of my photo trips, this one will give us many opportunities throughout three evenings for just that. Finally, having a second professional photographer (Meg) means I’m going to allow more participants than usual, as they’ll have more opportunity for one-on-one instruction with one of us.

Personally, I’m excited about this workshop because for years now I’ve been looking for a location that would let me do all of the above. Lots of huge, old, rusting metal machinery. Locations both indoors and outdoors. Space for classes. The ability to spend serious time with  students going into detail on light painting and low-level lighting. As with most new experiences in photography, you need to do this over and over before you really start to understand it fully. Sloss Furnaces, as a location, offers us all of that, and more.

Below are some examples of light painting and low-level lighting I’ve done over the last few years. These are the skills and techniques that Meg and I will be teaching next spring, from March 19-22. Join us, and you too can make these types of photos. You can find all the details in a PDF here.

(If you like this story, please share it with your friends and let them know about the links on photography that I post on my business Facebook page. You can also find me on Instagram. And if you’re curious about workshops I teach, you can find them here. Finally, you can subscribe to this blog on my home page.)