Reuben Wu Archives | Moss and Fog

Design

Reuben Wu’s Thin Places Creates Ethereal Moments Out of Light

March 25, 2025

We’ve long loved the work of Reuben Wu, who helped create the art of combining light and drones to create fleeting moments.

In the past, we’ve seen strange, alien-like landscapes where he creates moments of light that feel otherworldly.

His latest series, Thin Places, we see what looks like a paper-thin, sheer drapery, or a veil, made entirely out of light. It’s a gorgeous take on his trademark efforts, and shows his evolution as an artist.

See more of Wu’s amazing work on Instagram or his website.

Images © Copyright Reuben Wu.

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A post shared by Reuben Wu (@reuben)

Inspiration drawings showing the drape-like appearance Wu was going for.

Drone

Otherworldly Light Halos and Rock Formations

November 8, 2023

Photographer and artist Reuben Wu has a sensational series that looks about as far from our everyday streets as you can get. Traveling to strange rock formations in Arizona, Wu then captures beautifully lit night shots, with the rocks seeming to come alive under the light of the stars.The compositions are strong, showing complex rock colors and forms juxtaposed to the soft starry sky behind. To top it off, he uses drones equipped with lights to fly circles above the formations, creating in-camera halos that add a sense of futurism and visual punch to the series, entitled Lux Noctis II.

Highly ambitious and visually striking, we look forward to seeing more of Wu’s exploration of the natural environment. Via Behance:

Lux Noctis II photo series

alien-landscapes-moss-and-fog-1

“Drones are amazing for cinema not only as flying cameras, but also as flying light beams, foregoing the use of expensive cranes, helicopters and balloons, and allowing artists to shine light on places from angles which have never been possible until now.

Each image is a carefully-planned scene consisting of multiple lighting positions, layered to produce a theatrically-lit composition.

Using the GPS-enabled aerial light/drone in specific positions in space, I am able to create moods of drama and tension through chiaroscuro, and the ability to illuminate isolated features of a scene and exclude unwanted elements.”

Lux Noctis II photo series alien-landscapes-moss-and-fog-5

Photography

Alien Landscapes Lit with Drone Halos

December 5, 2022

Chicago-based photographer and artist Reuben Wu has a sensational series that looks about as far from Chicago streets as you can get. Traveling to strange rock formations in Arizona, Wu then captures beautifully lit night shots, with the rocks seeming to come alive under the light of the stars. The compositions are strong, showing complex rock colors and forms juxtaposed to the soft starry sky behind.

To top it off, he uses drones equipped with lights to fly circles above the formations, creating in-camera halos that add a sense of futurism and visual punch to the series, entitled Lux Noctis II. Highly ambitious and visually striking, we look forward to seeing more of Wu’s exploration of the natural environment. Via Behance:

Drones are amazing for cinema not only as flying cameras, but also as flying light beams, foregoing the use of expensive cranes, helicopters and balloons, and allowing artists to shine light on places from angles which have never been possible until now. Each image is a carefully-planned scene consisting of multiple lighting positions, layered to produce a theatrically-lit composition. Using the GPS-enabled aerial light/drone in specific positions in space, I am able to create moods of drama and tension through chiaroscuro, and the ability to illuminate isolated features of a scene and exclude unwanted elements.

General

More of Reuben Wu’s Stunning Drone Light Landscapes

November 12, 2020

Artist and photographer Reuben Wu has created a whole genre of long exposure drone photography, using lights on the drones to create geometric shapes and forms. His photos are often taken in alien-like desert landscapes, further pushing the images into surrealist territory. Here are some of his latest photographs, exploring dramatic and unusual rock formations, lit with drone aerials. See more of his work on his website.

Via My Modern Met:

Design

Landscape Lights from Rueben Wu

October 8, 2019

Excited to see more work from Reuben Wu, who has become known for his skillful and alien-like landscapes, lit by geometric drone lighting. By using a light-equipped drone and long exposure photography, he’s able to capture effects that look made in Photoshop, if not from another planet.

His latest project pursues the same ideas, exploring the unique landscapes of Bolivia. Check out more of his work on Instagram:

Art

Rueben Wu’s Terminus

October 5, 2018

We’ve been following Reuben Wu as an artist, sharing his beautiful and exciting work that pairs natural landscapes with geometric light-art ‘drawn’ with the use of drones. It’s a fascinating way to showcase the natural world, and with his latest project, Wu attempts to tackle the disappearing beauty of Peru’s glaciers.

We say attempts because on his Behance page, he admits the project had a number of weather and technical-related problems, from extreme cold to elevation issues, to fleeting battery life on his drones. At 17,000 feet, Cordillera Blanca is a stunning mountain range, yet with shrinking glaciers, a clear sign of climate change in action. Photographing the glaciers at night, Wu uncovers deeply beautiful depth and color in the ice’s form. And though he only had one successful ‘light painting’ with his drones, he was able to capture some truly impressive perspectives on nature’s icy creations.

Art

Reuben Wu’s Aeroglyphs

August 28, 2018

Artist Reuben Wu is becoming known as the ‘drone artist‘, a moniker we’re not sure should stick, but one that describes the tools with which much of his art is created. In his latest series, Aeroglyphs, Wu uses drones with lighting attachments to create simple, geometric forms over bodies of water, thanks to long exposure photography.

The simple forms you see could so easily be created in Photoshop, but the fact that they’re made with flying objects make them so much more interesting. His choice of open bodies of water for the imagery makes for a clean, open canvas, and allows for the long exposure photography to capture the light reflections. We love the simplicity, and the physical nature of this art, despite it being only viewable through the camera’s lens. Via Colossal:

Art

Wild Alien-like Landscapes with Light Halos

March 7, 2018

Chicago-based photographer and artist Reuben Wu has a sensational series that looks about as far from Chicago streets as you can get. Traveling to strange rock formations in Arizona, Wu then captures beautifully lit night shots, with the rocks seeming to come alive under the light of the stars. The compositions are strong, showing complex rock colors and forms juxtaposed to the soft starry sky behind. To top it off, he uses drones equipped with lights to fly circles above the formations, creating in-camera halos that add a sense of futurism and visual punch to the series, entitled Lux Noctis II. Highly ambitious and visually striking, we look forward to seeing more of Wu’s exploration of the natural environment. Via Behance:

Drones are amazing for cinema not only as flying cameras, but also as flying light beams, foregoing the use of expensive cranes, helicopters and balloons, and allowing artists to shine light on places from angles which have never been possible until now. Each image is a carefully-planned scene consisting of multiple lighting positions, layered to produce a theatrically-lit composition. Using the GPS-enabled aerial light/drone in specific positions in space, I am able to create moods of drama and tension through chiaroscuro, and the ability to illuminate isolated features of a scene and exclude unwanted elements.