Daniel Mercadante
The Rainbow Road Series
I began playing with light-painting as a way to add some warmth to the images that I was making, and the idea of rainbows sort of just popped into my head. Harnessing the rainbow and grounding it to be this imaginary road that could be walked on feels like a nice balance between the magic of nature and imagination. It began as a playful experiment, but I loved the results of the Rainbow Road, so I’ve put more effort into continuing the project.
After moving from California back to his New England hometown in the winter of 2018, Daniel Mercadante was inspired by the cold blue evenings to experiment with rainbow lights and long exposure. The results: The Rainbow Road series. In the latest set of these “light painting” images, Daniel’s switch to the X1D has become essential for executing this surreal, enchanting path and making it even more tempting to follow.
Making the Rainbow Road
To create the Rainbow Road, Daniel built a lighting device deemed the “Rainbow Rig.” Attaching household LED lights with strips of colored gels onto a broom, Daniel sets a long exposure and runs through the frame carrying the Rainbow Rig. Shooting his images at f/8 or f/11 and ISO 100, exposure time can vary between 30 seconds and 2 minutes depending on the brightness of the environment.
Most of the Rainbow Road images have been taken in Connecticut and Northern California, but the magical path has also made its way down to Guatemala. Chosen based on their nature landscapes, adding to the fantasy feeling of the Rainbow Road, Daniel plans to take the project all over the world to multiple environments.
Capturing the Rainbow Road with the X1D
I was using a few different SLR’s for the Rainbow Road previously, and I wasn’t really happy with the process of working with any of them. Also, when I went to test some large-scale prints, I wasn’t very happy with the results. After getting the X1D, I realized it is an entirely different animal. Between the experience of shooting with it and the results I can achieve with it, I’m continuously impressed and inspired to make more photos.
The images the X1D produces are leagues ahead of anything else I’ve ever worked with. With the Rainbow Road, I am capturing bright highlights and deep shadows. The latitude of the camera helps me enormously to prevent overexposing the rainbow and underexposing the environment. When I inevitably need to lift the shadows, there is so much image information that I can mine. Even when I need to go to extreme lengths because of underexposure, the noise readout of the camera’s sensor has a beautiful organic film-grain like quality, unlike anything I’ve seen in other cameras.
SEEING IN THE DARK
“With these images, I’m capturing long exposures during blue hour into the night. It becomes really difficult to see what I’m doing. The design of the X1D’s button placement and software is so clean and simple that working in the dark is never a problem. I can see every bit of what I’m doing. The screen shows huge numbers counting down the length of the exposure, and I can stop it early if I need to. The timer is similarly simple and easy to operate and it flashes bright signals, so I can see from really far away.”
ABOUT DANIEL MERCADANTE
Daniel has had a camera in his hands for as long as he can remember. Originally a filmmaker, he’s focused his attention on cinematography rather than still images. While directing television adverts in his professional life, photography has become Daniel’s personal meditation and creative recess from film sets. See more of @danielmercadante’s work here.
TEST THE NEXT GENERATION
X SYSTEM CAMERA
More Hasselblad stories
All stories ⟶Ottavio Giannella
THE EARTH AWAKENS
Photographer Ottavio Giannella flies with his X1D II 50C from Italy to Frankfurt and then on to Keflavík Airport in Iceland. He makes a 40-minute drive to the valley of the Reykjavík peninsula and a two-hour walk to his destination, the Fagradalsfjall eruption site.
Dayanita Singh
Books, Boxes, and Museums - Exhibits Reconstructed
On the 15th of October, Dayanita Singh was presented with the 2022 Hasselblad Award by the Hasselblad Foundation. Often referred to as "the Nobel Prize" in photography, the Hasselblad Award celebrates one artist's pioneering achievements in the photographic arts and their impact on the next generation of photographers. The Hasselblad Foundation highlights Singh's unique archival work, that not only documents the lives of archives but brings about a new way to interact and experience the art of photography.
Ali Rajabi
Pausing New York With the X2D
Every photographer knows about the Hasselblad brand, whether they're an amateur, enthusiast, or professional because the history of photography is on the shoulders of Hasselblad. For me, it's an investment in my career, to move to the next level. It's always important to have the right tools in the right moments to make great photographs.
Hans Strand
Iceland in Mesmerising 100MP Detail
For me as a photographer, the X2D is what a Stradivarius violin might be for a violinist. It's the ultimate camera.
Flora Borsi
Magical Realism With The X2D
The X2D is like a camera for painters. The pictures have the taste and technical background of a painting. I almost couldn't differentiate the two because it's just so perfect. This camera produces all the data I could ever use to convey the tales I want to tell with my pictures.
Heath Holden
Disappearing Doha
Discovering his new home of Doha, Qatar through the lens of street photography, Heath Holden explored the older and more traditional neighborhoods of the historical city.
Walter Janach
A Love Affair with Aviation on the 500C
Unable to become a pilot due to his eyesight, the young Swiss photographer and later professor of technical thermodynamics Walter Janach channeled his passion for aviation into capturing these majestic flying machines on his 500C.
Donald Michael Chambers
60 Minutes of Silence
No talking. No phones. No distractions. For 60 minutes, Donald Michael Chambers sat with each of his 30 subjects in complete silence. Once the hour began, Donald gave no direction and simply decided when to click the shutter button.
Gavin Goodman
Pleating Paper into Sculptural Headwear
South African photographer Gavin Goodman had a vision to create a series influenced by traditional African headwear done with a modern and simplistic touch. Commissioning a local origami artist as a unique way to bring this vision to life, they transformed delicate paper into beautiful African-inspired sculptural objects.