The Experimental Imaging course emphasized the spirit of exploration and trial and error, and we quickly decided to try a number of photo and video techniques with the self-imposed limitations of using only a single light bulb and a darkened room to produce portraits.

We first explored long-exposure photography with a fixed camera and subjects or lights in motion. Controlled and even movements, particularly in rotation, tended to produce interesting results. Next we attempted to move the camera around a stationary subject and built a variety of complex camera arms to rotate around a subject’s head or between two subjects. This proved to be a significant mechanical challenge but enabled us to experiment with a large variety of physical setup configurations in a limited environment.

Finally, we returned to the concept of our first photos with still subjects and moving lights, but took video instead of long-exposure photographs. We filmed video portraits of several subjects rotating or swinging a single light bulb over their heads and edited the sequences into one-second loops. We then converted the loops into GIFs to create animated portraits.