For the uninitiated, light painting is gaining prominence as a fascinating photographic technique that utilizes exposure of a moving light source – thus resulting in ethereal forms of lights with virtual density that are captured as images. British photographer Martin Kimbell has taken this unique method to nigh perfection with his utilization of LED lights and the airiness of the clear night skies. The results are breathtaking to say the least, with the lighting taking the form of flourishing yet sublime tornadoes infused with gossamer illumination.

These celestially sweeping spirals have been captured along strategic countryside locations in the UK, including clean yet scenic settings such as Leicestershire and Dartmoor. The backdrops of the photographs are tactfully chosen as well, ranging from rolling hills, expansive lawns to quiet rivers.

But what really tickles our fancy is how the resourceful photographer had made use of a pretty straightforward technique to achieve those tantalizing photographic canvases. To that end, Kimbell had simply installed a hoop with LEDs, and then threw it in the air. The camera and subtle cameraman-ship did the rest, with long exposure times aptly capturing the ascending (and sometimes descending) illuminated object. And as we can make out form the images – the hoop has gone various projectile paths, and that coupled with its changing background does endow an otherworldly essence to the entire light painting project.

Check out more of the photographer’s work at Flickr.

Via: Inhabitat