Light Fare at the Bar

Two notes: YouTube made me upgrade my Adobe Flash today before it let me see the videos. They might make you upgrade, too. And, as always, if you are reading this in an email or RSS feed which does not support embedded video, click here to get to the original post.
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Strobes are taking the day off today, in favor of some of the most creative continuous light photography I have seen in a while -- UK photographer Atton Conrad shot a campaign for Hennessy lit with nothing but light painting.

The video above is just a taste. If you want the full glass, hit the jump for a more in-depth look at how they produced some of their light sources. Including perhaps the most appropriate, tastiest gel, ever.
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Extended Version



Honestly, I was a little blown away by the creativity in those DIY light sources. And the idea of a gaffer's tape and cardboard-driven national ad campaign gets me all tingly.

I contacted Conrad to get a little backstory:

The story of how the project came about is also a story about blogs.

I shot the 'Future's Light' editorial for 125 Magazine which was picked up by a number of blogs. It was the web presence this gave me that got me the Hennessy brief (I even sent an email of thanks to them) -- and I really thing this is the direction things are going in.

The concept was developed by Tim Chapman at Time Zone One agency. And they needed someone with knowledge of Light trail creation and studio skills, hence my dear self.

I put forward the idea to light paint the entire work including the bottle, as I thought it a more authentic approach. The agency and Hennessy were both fantastic and supported me fully -- in line with the campaign slogan 'Blended with Talent' (referring to Hennessy working with creative talent as well as the product itself).

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Yeah, yeah, whatever, man. I'm still stuck on the genius of using the booze as a lighting gel.

I mean, can it get any better than that? I submit that it cannot.

If you are an AD looking to do a campaign with light painting, Conrad is looking like your guy right now. More light painting photos, including the "Future's Light" fashion shots mentioned above which combine light painting and strobe, at Conrad's site.

(Thanks to Thomas for the tip.)