Nick Fancher 1/17/22 Nick Fancher 1/17/22

Using a Fungus-Filled Lens with Long Exposure and Prisms to Create Psychedelic In-Camera Effects

Whenever I’m doing a personal shoot I try to make at least one small change to a tried-and-true technique in an effort to see how the resulting images differ from previous sessions. For example, let’s say I’m shooting long exposures in a darkened room while my subject is wrapped in strands of LED lights and moving around the room. Each image is different based on their movement, which creates unique light trails. In the following shoot I might have the subject and camera stationary as I swing the strand of LEDs around the room, thus framing the subject in light. Another session might involve me moving my camera while the subject and lights are unmoving. Each tweak of the formula creates dramatically different results and I frequently discover new techniques through these experiments…

Nick Fancher 9/28/21 Nick Fancher 9/28/21

All the Things with Annika

This was my first shoot with Annika Peterson and we did all the things. I started off with some light lighting, using a black fiber optic brush and orange gel from Light Painting Brushes. After that I explored making long exposures while rotating a linear prism FX filter and multi-strobing my flash. Finally, I took some shots with my fungus-filled lens, using shutter drag and an LED with changing colors.

Nick Fancher 8/6/21 Nick Fancher 8/6/21

Dreamy Shoot with Actress Aleksa Palladino

Always great to shoot with @aleksa_palladino. Thanks to @nalanihmelo for co-directing and styling the shoot. Also, how amazing is that light through my fungus lens?!

Nick Fancher 7/12/21 Nick Fancher 7/12/21

Creating Dappled Light with a DIY Reflector

What if I told you that i only used one light to create this image. It’s true. I used one of my favorite lighting modifiers— a DIY reflector…

Nick Fancher 5/6/21 Nick Fancher 5/6/21

What is Time?

I did some more time explorations in my latest shoot with Katy. I began with the same technique I explored in my last session, shooting long exposures with multi-strobing lights…

Nick Fancher 10/5/20 Nick Fancher 10/5/20

Long Exposures with Dancers Wrapped in LEDs

In my last post I mentioned how I’ve struggled for years to capture the essence of a dancer in a single frame. These are more attempts in this ongoing quest…

Nick Fancher 10/2/20 Nick Fancher 10/2/20

A Window to the Soul: Long Exposures of Ballet Dancers

Sometimes all you need is time. I photographed Caitlin and Karen last week, two dancers from Ballet Met. The sessions were deceptively simple. A dancer, a window, and a tripod. For some of the shots I froze their movement, highlighting their pose and their poise. I also explored making long exposures in an effort to capture the grace and fluidity of their movements (for years I’ve struggled to adequately capture a dancer in a single frame). I also used my fungus-filled lens on a few of the long exposures, resulting in especially ghostly images. Here are some of my favorites:

Nick Fancher 9/28/20 Nick Fancher 9/28/20

Fungus in Lens Creates Ethereal Glow in Images

The above image is a raw file— straight out of camera with no editing. It was created by shooting with a kit lens— which are very inexpensive and poor quality to begin with— that was made worthless by most anyone’s standard once it grew a fungus inside. I found this flawed treasure on eBay and have been exploring its possibilities over the last year, with this latest shoot being the most successful by far...

Nick Fancher 7/19/19 Nick Fancher 7/19/19

Golden Girl

I’m still on a kick of exploring hazy, golden light, with layers of texture. For this shoot with model Rachel Luree, I began by positioning her in front of a 37” octabox, in order to get an ethereal backlight. Next, in order to take advantage of Rachel’s long hair, I laid out a large sheet of glass, covered in a thin layer of coconut oil. I had her stand over the glass with her hair hanging down, and I lay underneath it shooting up. I wanted to give the appearance of her being submerged in water, with her hair swirling around.

Nick Fancher 7/5/19 Nick Fancher 7/5/19

Black and Gold

I’ve been collaborating with model Chyna Tene for several years now and I always go into the shoots excited to see what we come up with. It’s always a true collaboration, with her in charge or wardrobe, hair, and makeup, and me in charge of the rest.