The light? The liiiiight!

Okay, so this picture may seem deceivingly simple, but it's one of my favorite pictures of light because I honestly have NO IDEA how that bulb turned into a glowing ball when hit with a camera flash! I think one of the things that fascinates me most about light is how various sources of light interact with each other. In this case, the light coming from the computer camera taking this silly picture of my sister and me makes the one light in my sister's dorm room look much brighter and full of light than it really was.

I'm not sure if it's reflection or combined light or just a simple reaction. In any case, I still don't completely understand how it works. I'm just amazed by how a simple fluorescent ceiling light turned into a very bright light source in this picture. I think it'd take some photography knowledge to really know, but I think it's a great example of how photography transforms light. Maybe we can take this knowledge and see how lights really interact with each other onstage. :)

birds eye view

When you think of plays and you think about watching them, mostly the same type of venue comes to mind, at least for me. I think of the standard stage in a generally rectangular room with all the seats pointed towards the stage. This shot makes me wonder about what it would be like to see/design a show that was made to be viewed from above. I think I heard it mentioned in class that it has been done before and I think it would be very interesting and different to see. This birds eye view is very different from what we usually see and it all allows for the viewers to experience a whole other aspect of the lighting. Shadows cast on the floors seem like they will have more impact and possibly meaning. Lighting the faces of actors might not be as important either. I like the clean look of this photo and can imagine the possibilities if a play were designed from this angle.

Quetzalcoatl

This image to me is an amazing feat of mathematical precision and engineering and a testament to the remarkable advancements of a sophisticated people but none of that has anything to do with why I think this is an important piece to share in terms of lighting. Truly the architecture itself might be enough to fill page upon page of topics for discussion but I believe there is something even more powerful at work here that resonates very clearly, in my mind, as to the true significance of an image like this.

Before getting into that though, it is important to keep in mind the astronomical prowess of this ancient civilization and the vital importance that having a clearly defined system for measuring the passing of time was. Timing was everything, it was the the sustenance of their lively hood and systems like the one built in to the pyramid in the image were as accurate as the most sophisticated clocks of today.

What we see here is a shadow created by the steps of the pyramid being cast on to the railing wall of the other steps. This happens only during the spring and fall equinox which marked the beginning of very specific rituals particularly in relation to planting and harvesting of crops. As the sun rises it casts a shadow on the upper most step, then as the day progresses and the sun moves, a shadow is cast from more and more steps creating a sort of undulating pattern on the railing, giving the impression that it is moving downward. Finlay when it reaches the serpent head at the very bottom and all the triangles are connected it seems as if Quetzalcoatl, the feather plumed serpent, God of the sun and supremest of all the Gods has physically descended from the heavens beyond the top of the pyramid down to Earth amongst mortals.

The significance of this in relation to lighting is that it emphasizes the intrinsic evocative power of this wild phenomenon known as light. There are certainly many different cultural values and interpretations placed on light but fundamentally it is a tool of vast potential through whatever eyes you see it.

Within the context of this image for example, the cultural significance of this optical illusion is 3 fold: it depicts the power rules have to gather the masses since this event is something everyone within that society would be attending, it is a precise measuring device to mark the seasons and the beginning of agricultural activities that would help ensure the continuity of the society, and it reinforces the divinity of rulers as the bridge between mortals and Gods and their right to supreme dominion over the populous and all of this was achieved through one simple event. Simply by possession a great knowledge of astronomical movements and the behavior of light, combined with incredibly accurate and astounding feats of engineering, the ruling class of this society could transform naturally occurring events into miraculous works of the Gods themselves and wield it as power that they used to gain control of entire nations.

I think that this picture has a lot of demensions to it because of the light coming through the tree tops. I love the enormous amount of sun peeking through the spot to the right of the tree. The levels of lighting and the different angles at which they are coming from bring the main focus to the tree trunk. The little spot of light in the middle gives the tree a sense of life. This picture is very vibrant due to the lighting.

Opry House

This is at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee! My brother is the guitarist on the right and on the big screen. Yup, he's a professional guitar player. It's pretty cool. So about the lighting. . .

It's funny just how much fog was in the Opry at the time. I didn't notice it all until I saw the picture. Obviously, one of the main goals of the lighting designer was to make the beams of light visible, which seems to be pretty popular when it comes to music shows. A lot of these lights are definitely not being used for illumination, especially those few that are pointing straight up to nothing. Maybe I just caught them as they were moving and making a pretty light show? As you can see by the bright spot-lighting on the lead singer, most of the lights actually illuminating the musicians were coming from the front. I like how many uses of light are being shown just in this photograph. Illumination of a performer, colored lights around the screen in the back to help set a mood, and a light show for the audience are all visible here. There are even lights to make the signs look like they are glowing. I also really like the color palate. The designer made good, cohesive choices. Even with all of the different colors, everything was still very clear. Bravo, Opry.

I really like the lighting in this picture. It is a moderately bright day on the ocean, but there is remarkably no glare from the sun. I like that the light does a very good job sculpting her body. You can see how her body is flexing as she tries to maintain her balance on the board. This picture looks like it was taken mid day. I like that the sun does not light her face because it pulls focus onto how she is moving her body.

Two words I would used to describe this picture are content and playful. The natural sunlight lights the ocean very softly on this moderately sunny day. The brightness sets the mood of the picture as content and playful because it makes the waves look calm and blue. The blue is a content sky blue hue and reminds me of all those happy and playful summer days that we used to have when we are younger. This is the exact opposite lighting you get on depressing stormy days. The ocean and the waves look black with a lot of white froth where the wave breaks, making the beach seem very depressing.

Time continium

What is light? They say seeing is believing but what is it we are actually seeing? Light is such a huge component of how we interpret the world and yet it can be so deceptive, it has such curious properties; it can make things appear larger or smaller. make them disappear or change their shape or even accelerate or slow down action.

Light, traveling through space and time, has always been a thing of great intrigue to me, particularly in relation to how it behaves in the physical world and how it behaves in our minds. Light is a bizarre phenomenon and this image for me is a great example of exactly those bizarre qualities.This was a long exposure that a friend of mine took of the Golden Gate Bridge and its a fantastic rendering of the rhythm and pulse of the city. At first glance one could say that there is a stream of light flowing uninterrupted and that it is a single source and it gives the impression of a lightning pace. Yet in truth we know that the unbroken "continuity" of light seen in this image is actually a compilation of thousands of freeze frame moments capturing individual light sources over time, travelling slowly in the same direction. Time is obviously not affected by light but by looking at this image its hard to believe light isn't altering the flow of time.

I find it amazing how an image like this can capture so much more than the physical world and can even speak, through light in this case, about the essence of a place and a society. Whats more, it amazes me to think that not so long ago the view of that bridge would have been completely different and how much and how fast things change. We truly live in a world of light!

Anyways, the point I wanted to make about what first captivated me about this image is the deceptive and malleable nature of light and how it can create such fascinating optic illusions. What does it mean that light can be such an influential force in the human psyche and that it can so easily be manipulated to create specific effects?