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If you only have a few elements loaded this is not necessary. I found it helpful to create a little cheat sheet on your phone with descriptions of the files. In the menu system, it can be difficult to navigate to the file you are looking for because of the limited characters that the file name displays. The actual functionality of The Pixel Stick is my one gripe with the system. Once you do it once you will start to see the possibilities, which are truly endless. There is a converter on the website for file conversion or you can create your own. Loading up The Pixel Stick with content is easy. The end product is typically mind-blowing when you consider it was all done with one image in-camera. Most times we shoot the same scene over and over again to get the timing and exposure correct. You not only have to think about your camera settings but you also have to think about how things are going to move in the scene to provide you with an amazing end product. Working with The Pixel Stick requires thought and practice. It might toss you off your normal routine and allow you to see and think about places differently. I think this is part of what makes it a memorable experience. So when I plan a shoot with The Pixel Stick it typically doesn’t start until 9 pm and we end up shooting until midnight or later. At my current stage of life, I am typically in bed early and up just before sunrise. If you want to use The Pixel Stick in an outdoor setting then it obviously has to be late at night. However, I find the challenge of capturing a creative image in-camera to be the fun part. I typically try and do some sort of behind-the-scenes video of the process so that I can prove to people that call “Photoshop.” I will admit some of the looks could be replicated in Photoshop and probably made to look just as good or better. It takes time to think of a concept and I personally enjoy working with others in executing the idea and creating an in-camera image that is sure to have people scratching their heads. Working with The Pixel Stick is a collaborative process. It is not something I use all the time but when I do the photographic experience is always fun and memorable. I have had access to The Pixel Stick for the last several years. They’re fully funded, but you can still get in on the action for pledges starting at $300.The Pixel Stick Experience The Pixel Stick It’s powered by 8 AA batteries.Ĭurrently, Pixelstick is raising funding from Kickstarter for a production run. A small box on the unit allows you load an SD card with an image (maximum height is 198 pixels), which the stick will then display one column at a time. You grip it via a perpendicular handle in the bracket, allowing you to swing it and move it around very easily, with a rotating sleeve that can be unlocked to have the stick spinning freely. The Pixelstick is a lightweight aluminum stick consisting of two 3-inch rods (so it can fit inside your camera bag) connected by a central bracket. No hard work and you look like a genius - it’s perfect. The idea is you set the DSLR on long exposure, move the stick so the image stays consistent one vertical line at a time, and you’re done, with a downright fancy light painting you can show off to your friends whose minds are boggled by your creativity in capturing what appears to be impossible imagery. Made by Bitbanger Labs, it’s a literal stick armed with 198 RGB LED lights along its length, with each LED showing one pixel in a column at a time. Pixelstick is a light painting system that expands the limits of what’s possible without requiring you to pull hairs out thinking up outlandish techniques. As you get more advanced, though, you begin to realize the limitations inherent in the medium, requiring you to come up with difficult out-of-the-box solutions to effectively get the results you dream about. Light painting, that thing photographers do where they use long exposure photography to capture light movement, makes for some seriously gorgeous photographs.