Archive for February 6th, 2015

Light Observation #1

1) 1/29/15, 10:30pm, Lounge of Nassau Hall

2) An outdoor light that was aimed at a tree created a shadow of the branches in the snow.

3) My lighting moment was wonderful. Everyone in the lounge thought I was a weirdo when I stopped my friends to appreciate the moment I was currently having. The intricate twists and turns of the trees branches was represented so clearly in shadow on the freshly fallen snow. The snow being white and slightly illuminated by the moon, created a beautiful contrast between the light and darkness of shadow. The source of light hitting the tree also created little glimmers of sparkles in the reflections of water droplets that had turned to ice, which hung from the branches. The effect was very haunting in a way that surprised me. Yes, it was beautiful. But the chaos of the way the branches were entangled, combined with the lack of color told a sad story. It felt like death, as winter often resembles.

Sunrise/Sunset

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Photo taken by Peter Charney

Theme: Sunrise/Sunset

Description: I choose this image because I feel like it accurately represents a sunset in a very straight forward way. I feel like the interesting part of this image is not the sun itself, but rather the industrial tower in the foreground. When reading books on photographing sunsets, I discovered that sometimes the best way to capture a sunset is to turn around and see how the light affects the rest of the world. Even though I do actually include the sun in this picture, I think silhouette of the tower is beautiful in itself. Like in theater, when something is lit from behind it creates this effect that is really powerful. Something like an industrial tower that people often reject and call “ugly” during the daytime, can transform into something beautiful thanks to light.

Photo Observation 1

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Source: https://500px.com/photo/27583363/sunrise-by-frode-langdalen

Theme: Sunset/Sunrise

The optical illusion in this photo really appealed to me. The way the sunset lights up the snow on the trees to make it appear as if it were a pink cherry tree in spring reminded me of home and a more livable season, even though the picture was taken on a winter day. It’s a reminder to me that even though I feel cold, gray, or stressed, that peace if available if I look for it. I’m also grateful that the sun is not in the image. In the other sunset photos I viewed, the sun was a very powerful and active force and wedged itself in as a focal point. In this photo, the sun is absent and I can wander the image freely. I am not opposed to powerful forces– but this is what I needed to see.

Lighting Observation 2

1) January 26, 6:52 PM; Vanderpoel

2) The streetlights illuminated the street outside my window

3) Again, I was taking pictures of the snowstorm when I stumbled on an interesting piece of lighting. The road to Nassau/Suffolk and the parking lot outside of Lib/Rep was completely white with snow. The streetlamps were little balls of yellow light suspended above the road. Their stalks disappeared against the trees. The lights looked floating and magical and cast yellow light on the snow which diffused into an orange-purple color. A car drove down the road, casting blue headlights in contrast with the yellow light. I began to wonder about our different points of view. From my point of view, the lights seemed so pluckable and tiny. I wondered if the driver had enough light to see as he moved from light so shadow. I wondered about how we go through the day, using light from below the source and taking for granted that it fills up the air around us, while from above the source of light is so fragile.

Lighting Observation 1

1) January 27, 5:33 PM; Adams Quad

2) A tall tree casts a shadow with the light from Bits & Bytes.

3) The night after Snowmageddon, I left my room to take pictures of the aftermath to show friends and family. After wandering around North Campus for a while and not being impressed by anything, I walked to the south side of campus in search of some interesting shots. I cut across the snow-covered quad to get a more inclusive picture of the expansive white snow, but I was stopped by a breathtaking view of a tree outside Bits & Bytes. The light from the building was pale yellow and highlighted the snow with its warm color. The icicles hanging on the long Bits window blurred the view of the inside. It wasn’t entirely night yet, so the sky was royal blue and the branches of the trees that stretched above Memorial Hall were black and silhouetted, with pieces of yellow light getting caught in the web. The same yellow light shone on the base of the tree which cast a blue shadow on the snow. I snapped a picture excitedly, and felt my goal shift. Instead of taking pictures of the effects of the snow, I took more pictures of shadows and interesting contrasts.