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Philadelphia artist/photographer Harold Ross recently spent several hours
in the dark at The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. The result:
his "light painting" of "Rocket," a 170-year-old British steam engine.
Ross was struck by the engine's simple mechanical beauty on a recent visit
to the Institute and wanted to capture it using his specialized
technique. One of his passions is to make beautiful images of subjects which are past
their prime.
So he made an unusual request. His difficult and time-consuming method of
"painting" light onto the subject must be done in a completely dark environment,
which meant coming in after hours when the lights could be switched off. After a
Franklin Institute representative saw samples of his other
photographs,
he was given permission.
His image of the 1838 engine -- like all of his work -- is designed to
reveal details, dimension, and texture beyond the human eye's scope. His
technique, he says, could more aptly be called "sculpting with light."
