Light Painting a Bell 505 Jet Ranger X Helicopter
Our next light painting project is pretty freakin’ cool – a Bell 505 Jet Ranger X Helicopter! This was the 4th fantastic light painting photography project created on my recent trip to North Carolina.
I took this wide-angle iPhone photo of the Bell 505 the morning after the light painting.
The first two of those amazing projects were of the 2000 Velocity Experimental Aircraft NB32AB. Please click on this link for the story and both versions created at Raleigh International Airport.
The third project, a really wonderfully restored 1972 Buick Skylark Convertible, was created in the mountains near Boone, North Carolina. Please click on this link to read all about that pretty project! All three of those light painting projects were created for my friend Grover and his wife, Teri.
The day after the Buick project, I traveled to the Charlotte area for this one. This was such an awesome trip! I just wish Joannie could have come along, but there was just too much going on at home at that time. And she did a great job of holding down the fort while I was on the road. Next time!
There’s A First Time For Everything!
This cool project would be my first light painting of a helicopter. It would also be the first time that I light-painted anything perched over water!
Here’s a cropped view of the Bell 505 on the helipad.
As you can see in the setup photo above, the tail of the Bell 505 was definitely hanging over the water – well out from the helipad! Getting my light wand way out there wasn’t the easiest thing I’ve ever done. But, thankfully, with the help of a long painter’s pole, I was able to light paint all the way out to the tail rotor!
Even more important, I did not fall in the water (which, in the dark, was a very real possibility)!
Last bit of relaxing, and enjoying the pretty sunset, prior to light painting what you can see on our iPad Pro’s screen.
This project was created for Mike & Regina at their beautiful lake home on Lake Norman. I met Mike at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh back in July. He loved what he saw in our light painting booth, and he commissioned me to create one of their Bell 505 Jet Ranger X. As a side note, there’s a really good chance that this one will be on display at AirVenture next year!
The Bell 505 Jet Ranger X Helicopter
- Engine: 1 x Safran Arrius 2R
- Avionics: Garmin G1000H™ NXi Integrated Flight Deck
- Capacity: 1 Pilot + up to 4 Passengers
- Max Cruise Speed: 125 kts
- Service Ceiling: 18,610 ft
- Range (at VLRC): 306 nm
- Max Gross Weight: 3,680 lbs (internal) and 4,475 lbs (external)
- Empty Weight (Base): 2,180 lbs
- Useful Load: 1,500 lbs (internal) / 2,295 lbs (external)
- Baggage Volume: 18 ft³
- Hover Ceiling IGE/OGE: 14,450 ft / 10,460 ft
- Cockpit: Fully integrated digital flight deck reduces pilot workload.
- Safety: Features dual-channel FADEC for engine control and advanced envelope protection.
- Cabin: Open, flat floor, configurable for cargo or passengers, quiet ride.
Light Painting and the Dew Point
Once again, just like many of our light painting projects this year, we hit the dew point. At one point, I was using my shirt to dry off areas of the 505 just so I could lay down a layer of light.
Mike was my “Trigger Man”, firing the camera from about 150 feet away, up on the deck of the house. Mike had to be up there because I decided to do something on the crazy side – create the photography for two light paintings, using two cameras, simultaneously!
And, Mike would actually end up being in one of the light paintings!
And, if it worked, fingers crossed, we’ll showcase it here in the next couple of weeks! I’ll be starting that project shortly after Christmas. Please stay tuned…
Here’s the full final artwork! Man, this was a fun (and challenging) one to create!
The Bell 505 Helicopter Movie
This short Build Video contains the images that were used to create the Master File. It also shows it all coming together in post-production. On camera number one, Mike and I took 139 images for this pretty image that night, and 65 of those, using 94 different layers, were combined to complete their one-of-a-kind light-painted artwork. And I think it looks really beautiful!
A big thank you, Mike and Regina, for having me as a guest at your beautiful home, and certainly for asking me to create this one-of-a-kind artwork for you guys! I can’t wait to get started on the second one! – M&J