We arrived about 30 minute late to Portsmouth/Southsea from Cardiff...around 8PM.  This was a cause for slight consternation as the Portsmouth at Night photography group had made arraignments to shoot in Southsea Castle that night in honor of Luminary.  The catch was that we only had like an hour and a half.  If any of you reading this are light painters then you'll know that an hour and a half is the warm up/foreplay time in the session.  So missing a half hour could have been critical....

     PAN is a ridiculously fun group of avid night photographers and light painters.  We had heard of PAN, but finally getting to be with them in their element, in Southsea Castle, was a real treat.  Whetever expectations I had were totally exceeded by this collective of energetic, talented and exuberant photographers.  After filming some fun group shots and having a requisite group shout out,"Are you exposing?!", the group scattered across the Southsea Castle like nocturnal insects scampering towards the dark corners and into their internal light.

     Being in Southsea Castle after closing time was like a sanctioned urbex experience.  Lights off, gates closed, tourists gone.....the session was epic.  It was a unique experience on for the Luminary filming to be with so many light painters working at once.  We had been visiting artists galor already, but seeing 3 photographers setting up their cameras up in a line and then collectively llighting the scene was very cool....uplifting even.  The collective energy was palpable and the smiles/joy was contagious.....I can't say enough about what a positive energy these folks exuded.  Additionally the images they were managing with their collective efforts were very impressive.

     One experience in particular was being in the tunnels underneath the castle with Elmer.  The tunnel was low and you had to crouch to get through most of it.  Elmer explained some of the history and that these tunnels served as a prison holding area.....when the staff turned the lights out I really felt the nature of this place.  Let's just say that you should all be glad you have never been thrown into the prison tunnels of Soutsea Castle with hundreds of other criminals and left to fend for yourself in what was a "group" holding area.  The history was palpable...my thoughts were of people rotting away, horrible acts of violence in a forgotten place by forgotten people struggling to get by on the meager food tossed in by guards.  I thought about how much had transpired in these tunnels and by extension in the Castle itself.  There was something about being in this place after hours that helped my imagination along.

      The next day we shifted focus to Andrew.  Andrew is a car fanatic.  I was/am very jealous of his cars.  Fortunately for us Andrew was more than willing to share his passion for cars, his passion for photography and his techniques with us.  I have been impressed with his driving shots since I first saw them in light junkies, and to be able to see Andrew at work was a treat. At 3AM he put the word out to the brotherhood of car freaks that he was going to be taking pics that nigh.  By the time we arrived at the spot he indicated, a mere 12 hours later, we were met with a collection of cars that was hard to believe.  A Nobel, a Maserati, several BMW's including an M6 convertible, a Porsche, and on and on......wow.....what a night.  

     Andrew was in heaven, but having that many people and that many shots to do meant he was all business as well.  This is where his drive and dedication put him into the zone.  He had set this up, had a limited amount of time, a sick number of sweet rides and he was NOT going to let this pass him by without getting as many sweet car shots as possible.  I think it's fair to say that he had the proverbial "eye of the tiger"....

     Andrew managed the camera and the people with precision.  One after the other he hammered out great shots that made him and the car owners happy.  He pulled out his complete bag of tricks and the session lasted for hours and hours into the wee wee hours of the morning.  Andrew's stamina and excitement helped sustain all of us.  He as a gift for coordination and great people skills.  We did so much filming that we used alomst every bit of battery and battery power we had with us....when we looked at the clock we had a bad feeling....we had to leave the next morning (well,  that morning as it was like 1AM) and we had charge ALL of our batteries before we left.  You see our schedule had us driving to th enext location and filiming right away so we HAD to charge batteries.....and sleep a bit.

    Well, after we left, and building on the long night of shooting, Andrew made his masterpiece of the evening. WOW....me missed filming it, but still feel like Luminary had a tiny part in making this incredible picture.  "The Couple" demonstrates Andrew's technical prowess, but more engagingly, we see a beautiful story.  This picture has so many elements that blend together so seamlessly that "masterpiece" is the only word for it.

     One note I feel obliged to mention....This picture and all the masterpieces we have been fortunate to see and be a part of are a product of long hours and hard work.  The process is a creative and intellectual one that transports the artist to a timeless place of concentration and creativity. These images come from the images burned into the artists "second sight" and they materialize though careful technical and theoretical preparations.  Sure, sometimes a quick shot turns out perfectly, but even those are a product of all the hours and nights spent up to that moment.  Ultimately,  it is also a collaborative effort as well. The photographer never works alone.  Whether it's the models, other people waiving lights or just the environment itself there is always an interactive process going on.  In "The Couple" there were a number of people working to make it happen and Andrew coordinated it all like the pro he is.

     Cheers Andrew!  Thanks for the fast times!