Photographer Reuben Wu, known for pioneering light painting in beautiful landscape photography, including through the use of drones, has begun work on a brand-new project. While the project is in progress, Wu captured some beautiful shots in August that are too cool not to share a little early.
“These images were captured during an annual family trip to Lake Michigan in August. While testing a new technique involving lasers during the annual Perseid meteor shower, the aurora borealis made an unexpected appearance — a rare Summer event that seemed to be completely undocumented by anyone else,” Wu tells PetaPixel.
The new project, Siren, builds upon Wu’s excellent Aeroglyphs series. Like Aeroglyphs, Siren uses lights mounted on drones. However, while earlier work was very geometric, Siren is much more fluid.
“This series captures ephemeral, curtain-like structures that hover delicately in space, shaped by their environment rather than imposing upon it,” Wu says. “On the beach, the movement of the waves modulates the light source, creating a spatial ebb and flow over the course of a long exposure. These interactions allow for a response to natural rhythms, producing forms that feel alive and dynamic.”
The aurora borealis was lucky but related to Wu’s broader goal of exploring unconventional lighting methods and working harmoniously with environmental forces and natural phenomena.
“I got insanely excited when the aurora decided to show up out of the blue and photo bomb my laser drone experiment,” Wu says. “I have been trying to figure out the next iteration of Aeroglyphs for years, so I was deliriously happy when the aurora, Perseids, and my light painting work aligned in one setting.”
The aurora’s appearance that August night felt like an absolute gift — completely unexpected during the peak of the Perseid meteor shower. There was something powerful about being possibly the only witness to this convergence of these celestial events.”
This kind of serendipity, when rare, natural phenomena align with artistic intent, creates moments that feel touched by something much bigger than ourselves.”
While Siren is still in the early days, Wu tells PetaPixel that the series started as a sketch way back in 2021.
Wu started with the image he wanted to create and worked backwards from this vision, experimenting with different tools until he found a way to pull it off.
While he is keeping the details of his drone-mounted laser system close to the vest, he explains that the series explores “a more organic relationship with the environment” than his previous light-painting work, like Aeroglyphs.
The relationship between technology and art has long been fascinating for Wu. Technology never eclipses the art itself, but he consistently finds new ways to utilize his existing tools and combines them to create something new.
He notes that his new images were shot using the Fujifilm GFX100 II, but that he also shoots with the Phase One XT system, a Sony a1, and as PetaPixel has written about before, even an iPhone.
“Working with medium format, particularly in these nocturnal conditions, allows me to capture very subtle gradations of light and atmosphere that are crucial to the emotional weight of these images. The technical quality serves the artistic vision — and enables me to create very large, gallery-quality prints,” Wu says of working with the GFX100 II for Siren. “Working with a fully manual camera also gives me a lot of control over timed exposures, especially when choreographing drone movement with the shutter speed.”
Siren is off to an incredible, beautiful start. While the northern lights were a fantastic surprise for Wu, he won’t rely on specific celestial events for the series. The series will continue to explore the connection of natural rhythms, shapes, and motions, establishing a visual dialogue between artificial and natural elements. Additional work from Siren will be available on Reuben Wu’s website and Instagram when it is ready.
Image credits: All photographs © Reuben Wu