Archive for April, 2015
Santa is thirsty for Stella Artois
“I’ve looked at life from both sides, now…”
“You see, I like to be invisible. I don’t want people to know that I’m there taking their picture, because knowing you’re being photographed changes you. That’s a false image, so I like to take portraits where people don’t know I’m there, and that portrait of Joni is a perfect example of that.”
-Graham Nash, 1969, http://bigread.mojo4music.com/2013/10/graham-nash/
This is one of my favorite photographs ever taken. Graham Nash took this picture of Joni Mitchell through the hole in the back of a kitchen chair. The privacy of this photo is so mesmerizing to me. Joni is listening to her album Clouds for the first time, and you can see how personal the moment that she’s experiencing is. I love the contrast between the dark backside of the chair (what the photographer sees) and the light hitting Joni’s magnificent cheekbones — there’s a dramatic irony in this picture, she’s only aware of her part of the picture, the light.
Photo Observation
This photo is surreal to me because of the interesting way the photo is lit. You can clearly see the undersides of the leaves on the tree, lit up by a bright flash. However, the background is in shadow. This provides an unusual focus to the photo. This picture also reminded me of a Magritte painting, The Blank Page. Magritte was a painter known for his surrealistic work.
Surreal
Photo Observation 10
Source: http://hirolu.deviantart.com/art/JAPANESE-GARDEN-REFLECTION-50-159862826
I found this image in a really convoluted way. First I googled “surreal” to see what I was dealing with outside of Salvador Dali, and I saw a lot of pictures of islands floating in the sky. This made me think of Castle in the Sky, which I linked to Spirited Away (another pretty surreal piece of art), which made me think of Japan, and so I stumbled on some great Japanese garden scenes at night.
I guess gardens aren’t so impressive in the dark unless they are lit in interesting ways. This photo in particular feels surreal to me because of the reversal of expectations in the colors and brightness of the photos. The bright blue-white color of the tree makes it seem like it has almost been scratched out of the photo rather than an object that was already there. Against the greens of the other plants, it looks like a special or a magic tree. The mirror of the photo in the water below also makes me feel a little off balance, light-headedness, or a sort of floaty feeling.
I’ve labeled the light as “blue-white” in my key but I’m not sure if that’s correct–it could also be purple. I would have to know the color of the tree and rocks.
Violent Light (Photo Observation)
This comes off as surreal to me because the lighting here looks tangible. It’s so real that it transcends the ordinary boundaries of light. The way it strikes the girl makes it appear as if it’s impaling her or like it’s the trajectory of a weapon that could shoot her. And she is surrendering to it. In this photo, unlike many other lighting photos, the model has a direct relationship with the light in the photo, which is I think part of the reason it moves beyond reality.
Stuck in a surreal moment
Photo by Rych
Theme: Surreal
This is a photo of a Poland Spring delivery truck stuck in the snow outside my house. I took this photo because the moment had a strange feeling to it that reminded me of a a Gregory Crewdson photo. The arrangement of light and color along with the position of the people and vehicles gave this a surreal vibe for me.
Virtual Light Lab Assignment
Malibu Sunset
This warm gradient reminds me of the sunset of a cool season in a hot place like Malibu. The colors I used are not hot enough to evoke a summertime feeling. I avoided intense reds or oranges and tried to blend softer warm shades. I tried to put the blues of the top and the pinks and oranges of the bottom on the model at different angles to immerse her in the fading sunlight.
AP2190 75%
27 Degree Elevation
In the light lab:
12 feet above the deck, 12 feet stage right of model, Direct sidelight to model, 13 foot throw
AP4500 64%
48 Degree Elevation, 37 Degree side
In the light lab:
17 feet above the deck, 6 feet stage right of model, 8 feet downstage of model, 15 feet throw
G810 50%
52 degree elevation angle, 21 degree back angle
Light lab:
17 feet above the deck, 3 feet stage left of model, 8 feet upstage of model, 14 foot throw
G160 60%
48 degree elevation, 37 degree side
Light lab:
17 feet above deck, 6 feet stage left of model, 8 feet downstage of model, 15 foot throw
AP7850 50%
0 degree elevation, 6 feet above the deck
12 feet stage left of model, Direct sidelight to model, 12 foot throw
CYC: G842 30%
L075 75%
L019 15%
R21 51%
Lower: L075 25%
RED 75%
G315 83%
L036 30%
Mexico
The lighting I used for this is simple and bright. The blue sky is cloudless like the sky normally is in Mexico. Beachy daylight can be seen around the bottom which reminds me of sand. There are only two lights in the cyc because the colors of summer are generally less dynamic than the colors of fall or spring when the sun is out. I chose to shine a lot of light on the model since the sun is so bright.
NC 50%
27 degree elevation, 12 feet above deck, 12 feet stage right
Direct sidelight, 13 foot throw
G882 FULL
48 degree elevation angle, 37 degree side angle
17 feet above above the deck, 6 feet stage right of model
8 feet downstage of model, 15 foot throw
L101 73%
48 degree elevation angle, 37 degree side angle
17 feet above the deck, 6 feet stage left of model
8 feet downstage of model, 15 foot throw
RE007 FULL
27 degree elevation angle, 12 feet above the deck
12 feet stage left of model, Direct sidelight to model
13 foot throw
New England Winter
I think of dull colors when I think winter in New England. It was challenging to not make the lighting look like death. It still kind of look like death but I was going for an overcast setting, so I used a soft shade of blue and some grays. Downstage of the model is a cream-colored light so that she is illuminated but doesn’t blend into the backdrop and look like a ghost.
R07, 75%
37 degree elevation angle, 15 feet above the deck
12 feet stage right of model, Direct sidelight to model, 15 foot throw
G885 FULL
54 degree elevation
Direct back light
In the light lab:
17 feet above the deck, Centered on model
8 feet downstage of model, 14 foot throw
G842 75%
27 degree elevation angle, 12 feet above the deck
12 feet stage left of model, Direct sidelight to model, 13 foot throw
L258, 25%
-37 degree elevation angle, direct back light
0 feet above the deck, Centered on model
8 feet downstage of model, 10 foot throw
Maine Sunrise
This effectively portrays the mood of a Maine sunrise because the pink and blue gradient looks like the sky at dawn and the atmosphere is cool like Maine. The pink is not too warm. It reminds me of a fresh start.
AP500 75%
51 degree elevation angle
In the light lab:
17 feet above the deck, 9 feet stage right of model
Direct sidelight to model, 14 foot throw
AP830 50%
54 degree elevation
direct back light (it’s a front light…VLL got confused)
Light lab:
10 feet above the deck, Centered on model
16 feet downstage of model, 16 foot throw
AP7630 FULL
43 Degree elevation, 17 feet above the deck, 12 feet stage left of model
Direct sidelight to model, 16 foot throw
You must be logged in to post a comment.