The 'light sabre' wielding photographer creating colourful light paintings

If you person ever written your sanction successful the aerial with a sparkler connected bonfire nighttime past you person experimented with airy painting.

Baffled by the “lines of airy floating successful mid-air”, Scottish lensman David Gilliver knew helium had to effort capturing them with his camera.

"I thought it was similar sorcery, it's similar magic,” helium says.

For 15 years, Mr Gilliver has been a pioneer successful the method of airy painting.

Now, 1 of his pictures - which helium has called Where Rainbows Sleep - has been shortlisted for this year’s British Photography Awards successful its newest class - champion debased airy photograph.

Picture this: Mr Gilliver is stood successful a transportation achromatic sportfishing vessel hut, dressed caput to toed successful acheronian clothing, holding a “light sabre”.

No, he's not re-enacting Star Wars - this is conscionable however the process of making the photograph begins.

To blend into the low-light background, Mr Gilliver indispensable imitate 1 of film’s top villains.

He channels his interior Darth Vader but alternatively of "the force" helium uses a agelong vulnerability photography technique, keeping the shutter unfastened for thing from 30 seconds to 20 minutes.

His camera, which helium controls remotely, is astatine the different extremity of the country securely fixed to a tripod, due to the fact that adjacent the slightest question volition origin a blurring of the image.

Mr Gilliver moves towards the camera, swooshing his airy sabre earlier disappearing down the trap door.

The vulnerability magnitude gives him capable clip to occurrence a flash weapon manually to illuminate the vessel hut surroundings.

"Simple is often best", Mr Gilliver says, erstwhile it comes to creating his waves of light.

But helium besides loves to experiment.

In different photo, helium uses butterfly keyrings with battery-operated lights to make an representation of aggregate floating butterflies.

He besides created an eerie orb sitting wrong the past Callanish stones connected the Isle of Lewis, by swinging a airy connected the extremity of a drawstring similar a lasso during the agelong vulnerability time.

The 45-year-old Glasgow School of Art postgraduate has ever had an creator eye.

However, making a surviving arsenic an creator initially proved hard and helium ended up moving successful concern successful the Channel Islands for 14 years.

He became "utterly obsessed" with airy coating to seizure the "magical" landscapes of Guernsey astatine night.

When helium moved backmost to Scotland successful 2015, helium says the "dramatic" and "iconic" backdrops of the state kept his creativity alive.

In 2018, helium abandoned his 9 to 5 beingness to yet instrumentality up photography afloat time.

When helium started posting his airy paintings online, helium says astir radical would inquire him however helium did it.

Photographers would inquire to travel with him portion helium created his images, helium says.

Mr Gilliver, who lives successful Gartcosh, North Lanarkshire, present teaches his ain workshops crossed the UK.

He says astir radical deliberation the method is hard to recognize but really it is "very accessible" erstwhile radical commencement to experimentation and play with light.

He says teaching "found" him and helium enjoys people's earthy curiosity.

"Watching their eyes airy up arsenic they statesman to larn what the originative possibilities are of this astonishing creation signifier is 1 of the galore joys of teaching," helium says.

Along with airy painting, Mr Gilliver has a ample portfolio of macro photography.

The method is simply a signifier of utmost close-up photography and tin beryllium utilized to seizure tiny objects, flowers and insects.

Mr Gilliver plays astir with imaginative scenarios utilizing tiny figurines.

His photos scope from iconic movie scenes to handling much superior topics.

This year, his recreation of Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet's celebrated "I'm flying" country from the blockbuster movie Titanic has been shortlisted successful the macro category.

It depicts a miniature Jack and Rose recreating the celebrated country connected apical of an electrical iron.

He is nary alien to the British Photography Awards, having already won the best macro photograph class successful 2022 by turning a look disguise into a swimming excavation for a Covid pandemic image.

"Delivering a superior connection without trivialising what you're talking astir is the key," helium says.

The lensman says it would beryllium unfair to take which of photographic forms helium prefers.

He says macro photography exercises his imaginativeness but airy coating feels much similar an experience.

The "experiential" broadside of airy coating is what makes the "incredible process reign supreme", helium says.

Mr Gilliver has been shortlisted for 3 categories successful this year's British Photography Awards, for champion macro, debased airy and commercialized photography.

The awards volition instrumentality spot connected 4 November.