It’s been over a decade since I fell in love with the camera rotation technique. And ever since then, I’ve constantly been experimenting and honing my craft. Today, I’m presenting you with abstract orbs I took just before sunrise, using a 360-degree camera paired with camera rotation. I’ll share with you how I took them, hoping to inspire you to try this technique yourself.

It’s been over a decade since I fell in love with the camera rotation technique. And ever since then, I’ve constantly been experimenting and honing my craft. Today, I’m presenting you with abstract orbs I took just before sunrise, using a 360-degree camera paired with camera rotation. I’ll share with you how I took them, hoping to inspire you to try this technique yourself.

How I started playing with camera rotation

I made my first camera rotation back in 2012 with a DSLR on a lazy Susan playground apparatus. I had also been using 360 photography, stitching multiple photos to create backgrounds and light sources for 3D scenes on my day job in architectural visualization. In the early 2000’s I also experimented with shooting a chrome sphere (light probe) to extract a 360 image. In 2017 I bought a Ricoh Theta V and have been exploring 360-degree light painting using a technique I now call Camera Kinesis. I currently use a Ricoh Theta Z1 almost exclusively for that purpose.

7 Blue Hours

Now about the orbs that I’m sharing with you today. I took the photos just before sunrise, and since there are seven of them, I called the collection 7 Blue Hours. Daylight leaking in my studio added an extra bit of blue to the scene. However, the light source in this series is a decoration piece that I have often used in my light paintings. It has several RGB lights with 3 different controllers.

I attached the camera to a small rig I built. It consists of a monopod or (invisible stick as some call it) attached to a small heavy box containing a motor that does one rotation in 20 seconds.

While the camera is rotating on its own axis, I move it towards and away from the light source in repeating patterns. I have done this extra axis of rotation/movement using other motorized rigs or simple mechanical rigs like an office chair, lazy Susan etc… but I always come back to using my own arms to produce secondary motion because it adds slight asymmetries in the light trails that make it look more organic.

Finally, here’s one fun fact about this particular series is that some of the trails are from desktop icons on my triple monitor setup. Desktop icons against a black background can be like a 2-dimensional programmable pixel stick or sorts. I leave you now to the light orbs from the 7 Blue Hours series.

If you like this technique, here are a few more photos to inspire you:

About the Author

Hugo Baptista is an award-winning visual artist and photographer specializing in light painting. He uses various light tools and devices to create all sorts of effects and patterns in his photos. He also experiments with 360-degree light painting photography, camera rotations, and multiple-axis rotations. You’ll find more of Hugo’s work on his website, Instagram, and Facebook.