Fire Truck Family Portrait with New Brighton Aerial 498
We’ve got another really cool project just completed. A light painted fire truck family portrait! This is a pretty special combination light portrait. This three-part photo is one part family portrait, one part light painting, and one part pregnancy announcement too!
The “before” photo of Engine #498 prior to light painting.
New Brighton Fire Department Deputy Chief Mike Schute approached me about creating a unique family portrait. He wanted a cool way to announce the birth of he and his wife Alissa’s fourth child. After we chatted a bit, I suggested that we should combine their family portrait with a fire truck light painting.
Green Screen Magic
So Mike and Alissa brought Hudson (7), Madisyn (5), Ashlyn (2 1/2), and baby to arrive later, to the studio for a little green screen portrait magic. I would combine their family portrait with one of the three light painted fire trucks that Mike has helped me create over the last couple of years. The goal, to create a light painted fire truck family portrait.
While we were at it, we also created this cute photo which was used on social media to make their big announcement:
Another firefighter is on the way!
The Light Painting of New Brighton Aerial 498
While they were here in the studio, we talked about which fire truck to use. Mike and Hudson decided that we would use New Brighton Aerial 498 as the backdrop for their fire truck family portrait. New Brighton Aerial 498 is a pretty cool looking fire truck. And since she’s getting retired later this year, that was a darn good reason to use her.
Mike, Alissa, and their crew of three, soon to be four!
By using that light painting, another already retired rig, New Brighton Unit #3 would also be a part of their fire truck family portrait. Unit #3 is a 1955 CJ-5 Jeep that’s really only used for parades these days.
Two Is Better Than One
Mike is my New Brighton Fire Department “Light Painting Technical Director”. He has been instrumental in all three of my New Brighton Fire Department light paintings to date. Mike started assisting me with the light painting of New Brighton Fire Engine #5, almost two years ago. That cool light painted fire truck was my first ever light painting of a vehicle!
Then, earlier this spring, Mike and I light painted New Brighton Aerial 498 and New Brighton Engine 494, both on the same night! It is so much easier to light paint when there’s someone else to fire the camera. Then I can just work on moving the lighting around between exposures.
Mike has a pretty good feel for what I’m looking for while I’m light painting fire trucks. He’s been a big reason why these fire truck light paintings have turned out so awesome! Thank you, Mike!
Another thing that’s pretty important when light painting fire trucks, is that Mike also knows where all of the switches are for the fire truck lights. That, and he’s able to drive these rigs so that we can position them just right. Although I would really enjoy driving one of these awesome fire trucks, I’m going to let Mike do all of the driving.
The Schute family with Engine #498.
Fire Truck Stuff
Aerial 498 is a 1997 Spartan 65′ TeleSquirt. Aerial 498 is the first due rig on structure fires and alarms for the City of New Brighton, MN. The 1955 CJ-5 Jeep, was New Brighton’s grassfire rig for many years, it has been retired from service for several years now, and is now used for parades.
Below is our YouTube video showing some of the steps that went into creating the fire truck family portrait. Please check it out below, and thank you for reading our post. – M&J