Archive for April 16th, 2015

VLL Four Seasons

Fall Sunset in Malibu

fallinmalibu

I feel this image is a good representation of a Fall sunset in a sunny place like Malibu. The dramatic sidelight gives the model a long shadow, indicating the end of the day. The purples in the backdrop give the moment the “tropical” feel of Malibu, but still contains the greenish color of a Fall sunset.

CYC
Above: G730 at 75%, G985 FULL
Below: L124 at 75% G290 at 10%, L026 FULL

MODEL
AP7200 FULL
37 degree elevation angle
56 degree side angle
In the light lab:
17 feet above the deck
12 feet stage right of model
8 feet downstage of model
18 foot throw

AP5600 at 50%
32 degree elevation angle
56 degree side angle
In the light lab:
15 feet above the deck
12 feet stage right of the model
8 feet downstage of model
17 foot throw

G950 at 35%
52 degree elevation angle
21 degree side angle
In the light lab:
17 feet above the deck
3 feet stage left of model
8 feet downstage of model
14 foot throw

Spring Sunrise in Maine

springinmaine

I think of re-imagining of The Seagull set in Maine when I look at this picture. Lucy and Ray are two characters on a patio by the shore. The yellow sidelight represents the inside light spilling from a screen door, because it is not quite bright enough to turn the houselights off. Those yellow lights contrast with the cool blue and pink colors of the rising sun. The peachy colors chase away the dull turquoise blue, and the mix between them is a greyish-green which softens the sunrise and tells us that this is going to be a gentle and easy day.

CYC
Above: G790 FULL
Below: G268 FULL, G250 at 50%

MODEL (both models)
AP8550 FULL
27 degree elevation angle
In the light lab:
12 feet above the deck
12 feet stage rigt of model
Direct sidelight to model
13 foot throw

AP4630 FULL
75 degree elevation angle
In the light lab:
17 feet above the deck
3 feet stage right of model
Direct sidelight to model
11 foot throw

AP7150 FULL
23 degree elevation angle
56 degree seide angle
In the light lab:
12 feet above the deck
12 feet stage left of model
8 feet downstage of model
16 foot throw

Summer at Noon in Mexico

nooninmexico

The backdrop in this design is a representation of a bright, blinding Mexico sky. The turquoise-white color at the bottom of the blackdrop gives us the feeling of the sand and ocean. The lighting is bright and mostly above the model, because the sun at high noon is directly above as, and the top light is not likely to cast a dramatic shadow. I imagine that in this scene Ray is on some sort of high-speed adventure or treasure hunt through a tourist trap part of Mexico.

CYC
Above: G850 FULL, G770 at 50%, G725 at 25%
Below: G785 FULL, G860 at 50%, G770 at 50%

MODEL
L013 FULL
32 degree elevation angle
56 degree back angle
In the light lab:
15 feet above the deck
12 feet stage right of model
8 feet upstage of model
17 foot throw

NC FULL
35 degree elevation angle
direct back light
In the light lab:
17 feet above the deck
Centered on model
16 feet downstage of model
19 foot throw

L007 at 75%
90 degree elevation angle
In the light lab:
17 feet above the deck
Centered on model
Direct downlight on model
11 foot throw

Winter Afternoon in New England

winterinnewengland

The backdrop in this photo suggests that the winter day had been mostly white, as winter skies tend to be in the Northeast, but is clearing up as the day ends. There is yellowish light on the model so she is not washed out in the blue of the backdrop, and the warm yellow light indicates it is a later time of day. There is purple sidelight on the model which gives color to a white winter day.

CYC
Above: L174 FULL, G889 at 75%
Below: G920 FULL, G872 FULL

MODEL
AP6600 FULL
33 degree elevation angle
21 degree side angle
In the light lab:
17 feet above the deck
6 feet stage right of model
16 feet downstage of model
20 foot throw

AP4800 at 50%
52 degree elevation angle
21 degree side angle
In the light lab:
17 feet above the deck
3 feet stage right of model
8 feet downstage of model
14 foot throw

AP3150 at 50%
37 degree elevation angle
56 degree back angle
In the light lab:
17 feet above the deck
12 feet stage left of model
8 feet upstage of model
18 foot throw

Lighting Observation: Subway station at 168th street

4/12/15, 9pm, subway station at 168th street

I was visiting a friend in Washington Heights on Sunday night and I had never gotten off the subway at 168th street. And I hope I never have to again. Without a doubt, the CREEPIEST station I have ever been in, especially on a cool spring night.

The harsh, yellow lights had green tints to them, making the ugly concrete walls even uglier. It was the color that very sick, dying people are painted to be in morbid graphic novels. I had never walked down such a long corridor in a subway station before. The way the lights were positioned and colored made me feel like I was in a movie about a haunted mental institution … and I was the hunted.

Light Lab: Or, VLL has me stumped.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Okay … I don’t know WHAT I was doing wrong with the VLL software, but using it was the most frustrating and confusing thing I have ever done for school. <endrant>. I don’t think I did this right at all, but here goes:

Fullscreen capture 4162015 45058 PM.bmp

SPRING IN MAINE. I looked at photographs and many of them had purplish overtones from the water and from the sky (many of them also had lighthouses … oh, Maine). That created a big contrast between the orange of the rising Sun.

RE179, Full ; AP3100, 75%

 

 

Fullscreen capture 4162015 45054 PM.bmp

Malibu in the Fall.

Fullscreen capture 4162015 45051 PM.bmp

Mexico in the Summer. The cool blue from the water and the sky mixed with the hazy heat radiating off the sand.

AP4700, Full; Blue 75%, NC 25%, LH1778 75%

 

Fullscreen capture 4162015 45046 PM.bmp

 

Winter in New England. Because I was struggling with the program, I couldn’t find the right balance. I would have created more long, diagonal shows cast by bare trees.

RE130 Full; Blue Full, L746 Full, Green 20%, RE159 70%.

 

Coney Island, baby!

night-to-day-coney-island-new-york

Photography By: Stephen Wilkes www.onebigphoto.com

AMUSEMENT

I’m a big fan of Coney Island. An amusement park is such an obvious choice for the theme. The lighting is bright and colorful and designed precisely to imbue joy, wonder and “amusement”. What I like about this composite photograph is combining the night time cacophony of color with the singular bright sunlight of the day which highlights the beach goers. A bright sunny day on the beach also imbues the possibility of “amusement”.