I really love this picture because of the joy and excitement that I get from looking at it. The bright white lights that are used to illuminate the carousel give it somewhat of an angelic feel and the little kid in me gets excited and wants to go on it under the lit ponies. This scene was especially striking mainly because it was at night and it was one of the only things illuminated in a small park. You can almost hear the laughter and screams of delight coming from the carousel because of how well-lit it is. All attention is drawn to it, and if it weren't for that man blocking the view, it would be much better!

I was googling some images that I thought would be interesting to post about and I came across to this one. I really like this photo because of the contrast with shadows. This picture really sets a mood upon me and yet I am still amazed by it. I like how the light is able to slip in on her face through her hat as if the art director or lighting designer used a gobo there. This is really an intense photo and I think if it was enlarged more, it would gain more interest in other people and a luring effect. I think I like this photo as well because it has a sense of a black and white picture where color is not really needed to make it a good photo, but just the shadows and lighting makes the photo work. Despite the subtle color of the hat and the woman's hair, it really puts an edge to the photo. I really like how the lighting works in this photo.

America's Next Top Model

I totally love this show only for the AMAZING and CREATIVE photo shoots that the models have. Okay so besides the focus of the model, I absolutely love how the light plays into this photo and how it reflects up on the water. The haze in the background adds a great effect as well as the fading colors of white to blue from bottom to top. I am curious of how they actually did the fading color in the background. I think if I had to guess, there would be two lights, one with white light and the other in blue. I know that the flash in front can not effect the background, but it is bright enough that it adds good contrast to the shadows off the model. I think this is by far one of my favorite photos from the show.

Epilogue: The Living Room Tour

Last Saturday I went with a friend to the closing performance of The Ahimsa Collective's Living Room Tour, Epilogue. After driving for 2 hours just to get to Ventura, I was not the happiest camper in the world. Once the show began, though, I was really engaged. We were in a nice living room in a secluded neighborhood and the room was pitch black. From behind me, I could hear heavy breathing coming towards the living room from a hallway and then a small pool of light appeared as Anna, portrayed by Ashley Opstad, made her way to the couch holding a plate with multiple tealight candles on it. The first five minutes of the show were spent watching Anna sit at the coffee table and light many many tealight candles. Something about the way she was breathing and frantically lighting the candles was so captivating and set the tone for the entire show. Turns out, the candles were the only light sources used in Epilogue. I thought this was brilliant. The candlelight created really interesting shadows on the actors' faces and added to the intimacy of the space--I mean, it's a play taking place in someone's living room! The lighting also really added to the ambiance of the post-apocalyptic world of Epilogue. I've never seen anything done like this before. It was definitely a creative way to light such a small space. This was the first time I'd gone to see an Ahimsa Collective show, but I am sure it will not be the last.

Reflectors

I love reflectors. They are so much fun to work with and they can easily turn one light into two or more light sources. Awhile ago I went with a friend of mine to the beach where we got to play with reflectors. It was fun seeing the effect of the reflectors and seeing what we could do with the light.

We went right around sunset but as soon as I got there I realized we couldn't have her look directly into the source of light (the sun) because it was too bright. Therefore I had the sun on one side of her and I took the first photo. The shadows on the right side of her face were too dark and you really couldn't see her eye.



So for the next photo I put a gold reflector on the right side (her left) so it would take away some of the shadows and give it a similar golden glow as the sun. Unfortunately the angle I had it at made brought all of the light upon her face and made the right side too bright and unnatural looking



Finally, like Goldilocks, after playing around with the distance of the reflector and the angle, we got a more natural shot of her. The sun is still the main directional light, as evidenced by the shadow of her nose over the right side of her face, but the right side of her face was no longer in complete shadow. We can still see her clearly and while the right side is still slightly brighter than I would like, I'm happy with the lighting (although not with the photography...my model looks slightly unhappy that I was shining all of these lights in her eyes and this particular photo is out of focus).

Southern Sunset

I took this picture somewhere in the south as I was flying home from Tennessee. The picture obviously doesn't do it justice, but the sunset was BEAUTIFUL. The clouds not only reflected many colors, but so did the wing of the airplane. Since I was so far above the clouds, I could see all the way to the horizon, where the clouds were reflecting lighter colors than those that were directly below me. It was fun to see all the shadows that were cast on the clouds, making all their little bumps and divots much more apparent. It was also cool to see that the shadows were not completely black but also had some color. The color within the shadows was deeper than the light itself, though not warmer. If seen by itself, it would have a daunting feeling attached to it. Mixed with the brightness of the clouds, however, it offered a lovely contrast without changing the overall mood of the sunset. It was great to experience such beauty in a naturally lit atmosphere. I had to close my shade soon after, though. We turned and I was blinded.

Angles of Angels

While I typically like to keep spiritual concepts distant from any sort of academia, I feel that in conjuring feelings of ethereal esthetics and heavenly warmth, this picture conveys just the appropriate image. Though it lacks in color other than natural sunlight filtered through a stained glass window, the angle and subsequently cast shadows are what really draw my attention. As someone who has been involved in their faith throughout my life, I know it's often difficult to coalesce the technical aspects of a "class" such a lighting design and the emotional spirituality encountered in a religious image, particularly because it carries a kind of personal significance to me. A church is a place of not only sanctity, but a type of home, one that welcomes and accepts without question or criticism. While the picture may seem lonely or dark, it also portrays a kind of hope or sense of light amidst the darkness, which I feel is so emblematic of having faith in a society like ours today. The angle and intensity of the light is stark and direct, showing that, while the light source may be small, it is ever present, and within its source, strong and steadfast.

Lotta lotta light bulbs

I visited the Huntington Library in San Marino a few weeks ago. The library has a collection of rare books, manuscripts, prints, photographs, maps and other materials in the field of British and American history and literature. The Library's collections range in time from the Middle Ages to the 21st Century. Among the items on permanent display is Chaucer'sThe Canterbury Tales.

Within the library is a science and technology museum covering the history of medicine, astronomy, ecology and electricity. I was delighted to find a room where they have on display around 200 light bulbs dating between the 1890’s to the 1960’s. Included were examples of the variety of bases, filament and globes in use before the development of current incandescent and fluorescent bulbs. The most interesting aspect of these bulbs for me was how different the filaments looked in each one. (see images!) Some were looped, some spiralled and some were in verticals lines, much more creative than the basic filament we’re all familiar with today.

Lighting From Behind

I was in Pasadena recently and while strolling in the town at night I began looking around for interesting lighting to write about for this blog. One of the things I noticed and will now describe were a lot of lights were designed so that objects were lit from behind or underneath. I found this type of lighting created a romantic mood which suited the evening nicely. The designs were well thought out because most of these ‘romantic’ lights were used in restaurant settings.

One example was in a café bar, which had lights under the tables. This created interesting shadows on the walls. That cafe also had pretty lights hanging overhead. Both types of lights meant the room was softly, yet evenly, lit as well as being decorative in appearance.

Across the street was another restaurant with it’s title positioned above the doors. As you will see if the photograph the words were lit from behind creating a halo-like glow around the words, framing them and giving them a three-dimensional look.

Lastly I came across a beautiful stone building with decorative urns sitting in alcoves halfway up the walls. They were also backlit, making them stand out.