Personal Project Al Lapkovskyluxury of an empty canvas as a painter has. So, to
create an abstract photo from something real and
physical we must find a way to distort that reality,
and here, we photographers have the advantage.
We can take the light emitted from our subject and
paint with it over time. The longer we take, the more
abstract our picture will become. If we have very
recognisable subjects, like architectural masterpieces,
we can take a longer exposure and make the picture
more abstract, but at the same time still let the viewer
know what’s in the image.
Talk us through your picture-taking process...
I must pay tribute to the producers of smartphones.
With every new model, they make cameras and
algorithms ever more proficient. On my particular
smartphone – a Huawei P20 Pro – there’s a camera
mode called ‘Silky water light painting’. Essentially,
it’s a long exposure mode with Live View. If I saw
a building or scene with very recognisable features
I would walk around it a couple of times to find the
best angle and only then take my smartphone out,
switch the camera on, set it to the long exposure
mode and, while looking at the screen, start recording.
Here comes the best bit... Years ago, while using
Mamiya and film, I was making 32 exposures for
each frame while moving the camera slightly to get
that ‘shaky’ result. Then I’d have to wait for the film
to be developed and scanned, and all before seeing
the final result. With DSLRs, I also shot lots of
multiple exposure pictures, which was faster, but I
still couldn’t see the final result until the 30-second
exposure was over. Now, with a smartphone, I see
the result in real time on my screen and, that way,Above Three
rather surreal
views of Kazan
Cathedral’s
impressive
Empire-style
architecture.Above left The
imposing bulk
of St Isaac’s
Cathedral is
rendered abstract
by Al’s ‘silky
water’ technique.PRacTIcaLPHOTOgRaPHY.cOM 55