Lux Noctis

March 15, 2018 2:46 PM

Creating undiscovered landscapes by clever use of drone-assisted lighting in this series of photographs by Reuben Wu (previously).
posted by Stark (3 comments total)

I have no idea if this really how it works, but I love imagining a drone with a tiny light that was barely visible to someone watching at the time but left on for so long and with such long exposures that the resulting photo looks like it was lit by a spotlight.
posted by straight at 6:16 PM on March 15, 2018 [2 favorites]

Sounds like it:

Recently Wu has evolved his process of working with the drones to form light paths above topographical peaks in the mountainous terrain. “I see it as a kind of ‘zero trace’ version of land art where the environment remains untouched by the artist, and at the same time is presented in a sublime way which speaks to 19th century Romantic painting and science and fictional imagery,” said Wu to Colossal.

If nothing else, "zero trace" land art like this is lovely, particularly when it accentuates already stunning landscapes.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:00 PM on March 15, 2018 [2 favorites]

Ahhh Reuben Wu is great! I first discovered him through his Svalbard work which also plays with the idea of alien landscapes, in this case by processing photos with the wrong chemicals on purpose to get alien-looking colors. Thanks for linking this new stuff!
posted by capricorn at 10:34 AM on March 16, 2018