Paint That Place with Light! Light painting as a means of creating attachment to historical locations: An art-based action research project
Nina Luostarinen and Kirsi MacKenzie
The images presented here are the artistic outcome of the creative processes employed at the workshops. Five examples of light painting photographs created during these four workshops are analysed here using a semiotic approach (Barthes, 1977; Fiske, 1994; van Leeuwen and Jewitt, 2007). By using the Barthesian distinction, we open up (the) denotation(s) and connotation(s) of each image to find out how the light painting process might have increased the participants’ emotional attachment to those sites.
Each photograph included here will be analysed using three different approaches. First, we will describe the techniques that were implemented to realize these light paintings. Composition is one of the most important skills for any photographer to master. A good composition is essential to guide the viewer’s eye toward the most important elements of the image. Secondly, we will discuss important composition elements in each image in more detail. All our light paintings can be seen as literary tales. There is a story, a theme and a specific setting.