Pajinka

Pajinka, Cape York, Queensland – Steve Rutherford Landscape Photography Art Gallery.

This is an unframed, limited edition collection landscape photography print of only 25 units. It is printed on Hahnemuhle Fine Art Pearl papers, structured to refract the highest values in colour and detail. It’s high-quality ink absorbing layer enables exceptional image quality with enormously detailed sharpness, and a very broad colour range, providing archival permanency of your artwork for over 100 years.

On tripod, Canon 5DMk2, 20mm, F4, 2 min, ISO 1600, no filter, light painting technique, processed in Lightroom.

Located on the northern most tip of Australia, Cape York (or it’s Aboriginal name, Pajinka) is a marvel of the continent. I first walked from my campsite in the afternoon to get to this lone tree in the mud flats. Timing was everything, the tide can roll in a distance of a kilometre in just under 10 minutes, making it treacherous in the dark. I returned late at night with this picture in mind, and a torch (a good hour without a tidal change). This area is extremely dark, so as not to create a fake look with a flash, I used a torch to paint in the tree, knowing the sky above during a 2 minute exposure would glow naturally.

Pajinka, Cape York, Queensland – Steve Rutherford Landscape Photography Art Gallery

Light painting is a technique where you set your camera to a long exposure and use a torch to paint through the scene. A tripod is necessary. Usually conducted in very low light. Easy does it though. Use your torch sparingly to start with, you can easily overexpose (causing what’s called hot spots), which can’t be fixed later.

Use a remote, or cable to release the shutter. If you have to, use a 10 second timer built into your camera. Paint slowly over areas you want more light, and faster where you want faint light added. The result can be stunning, like Pajinka.