Is there a hint guys, as to how this is achieved??
Indeed, I can give you a few pointers . . .
I've figured out that I don't turn around on the same spot when spinning the light, but in actual fact I rotate around the outside while keeping the light nearest to the ground at the same spot. That is quite hard to explain but that way I get a better looking circle - and because I'm "walking around the outside" rather than turning around on the same spot, my body doesn't show up on the image.
The torch need to have a wide angle beam (narrow beam type torches will only show up the light in one small area). You only need to attach a piece of string to it.
I set the ISO fairly low (not too low as some of the location was very dark but not too high as to show up "noise"). Here it was 100 to 200.
I kept the aperture fairly wide (F3 to F5 the whole time) - it helps to make the most of what little surrounding light there is.
The exposure time were 30 to 40 seconds - and of course, a solid tripod is an absolute must. Set the timer to 10 seconds as that will give you enough time to position yourself and to start getting into the rhythm when spinning the torch around (not hitting the ground or the roof!) - by the time you know where you are and what you are doing - then the camera will get to work.
In this case I have been using the Lumix TZ45 and it was set to "M", but it is like an owl in that it can see very well in the dark when it comes to autofocusing! That way I didn't have to do any manual focusing and hoping for the best things wouldn't be out of focus (not at all easy when it's almost pitch black!).
Finally, and perhaps I am pointing out the obvious - but choose your location well. The more interesting, the better!
Oh! And wear black all over - that way your body doesn't show up in the capture.
