Quick Tip: How To Make Colorful Light Paintings With Lee Filters And A Bubble Blower

Photographer and light painter Hugo Baptista sent in a clever tip on using a hacked bubble blower and a pack or Lee filters to create some interesting light painting.

The idea is to use the rotating end of the bubble blower (i.e. removing the bubbly part) to make a rotating filter fan. Hugo used a pack of old Lee filters, but any colored gel will do. The color plate is then rotated in front of the lens in a long exposure so the light coming from any light painting object will “shift” colors. Here is how Hugo describes it: I bought a $5 bubble blower, took its fan off and attached a round panel of LEE sample filters cut into squares brought together with transparent tape. I then made the filters rotate in front of the lens while I was light painting the scene.

The results are quite interesting.

In another set up, Hugo used the same technique he did for these light paintings, but with camera pointing straight up and rotating it 360 degrees. The rotating filter contraption was placed in front of the lens while the camera was slowly rotating to create the color patterns in between the rings.