Photo Observation #11

Posted on April 23, 2012 by previousstudent

2) Photo taken by Nic Christopher. Taken at lookout point near Blasket Islands on Dingle Peninsula on April 15 at around 3:20 PM.

3) THEME: Unreal

4) DESCRIPTION: This picture was taken while on a hike overlooking the Blasket Islands while I was with my family touring the Dingle Peninsula. Yes this is taken from a similar area as last week’s photo however I think that this photo and the lighting employed in this photo are fantastic. I think that the lighting of this photo is spectacular and almost makes the photo become something more of a photoshopped background or a dream than an actual photo. I other that raising the contrast of this photo I did not do anything in terms of post production to this photograph.

When I tried to think of something UNREAL, the first ideas that came to mind were abstract images or pictures of fire or stunning sunsets. What I realized is that those things are not unreal in terms of lighting. What is unreal is when the lighting can play tricks on someones perception and when lighting can offer a grand contrast in an area that already seems somewhat dream like. The first thing that I liked in this photo was the Rainbow. I think that a rainbow is simply unreal. It is always there and appears to be a tangible thing, however it can never be touched or reached. Rainbows are also stunningly beautiful and extremely colorful. The other element of lighting that makes this image seem so unreal is the contrast between where the sun is shining and where the rain is falling. With the panorama shot, you are able to see that there is a small squall hitting one part of the farm land while the sun is beating down in the background. It juxtaposes a scary and strong storm onto a beautiful and bright scene of a green and luscious hillside.

Standing on the mountain looking out on this land seems to give me a feeling of being king of the land. Watching the elements interact with the land and the animals. All of the contrast is blended with the illusion of the rainbow and it just makes me wonder if this place is really an actual place.

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Lighting Observation 11.2

Posted on April 23, 2012 by previousstudent

1) 4/22/12 – 4:16 PM – Black box theater in the NAB

2) OBJECTIVE DESCRIPTION: I was in the Black Box with a few people looking at the lighting options for the proscenium. Bryan turned off the lights and there was no light in the space. I handed him my flashlight and he walked around but all I could see was the small white dot floating around in the space.

3) SUBJECTIVE DESCRIPTION: I was meeting Bryan Chess in the Black box to look at the possible options that we had for illuminating the proscenium for Spring Awakening. I walked into the Black Box and sat down in the house and waited for Bryan to show me what he had plaid with already. After I sat down he walked over to the light switch and turned off the lights so that we could turn on the strip lights. When he turned off the lights it was pitch black in the theater and I could not see my hand in front of my face. I hardly knew where Byran was other than what I could hear of him.

Being in this absolute dark fog was somewhat disconcerting as I was all of a sudden completely unaware of anything around me. Bryan tripped and stumbled and then finally made it over by me by following my voice. I handed him my flashlight and he began to walk toward the proscenium. As he wandered around all I could see was the tiny floating light all over the black box. The light seemed to take on the personality of Bryan. It zig zagged back and forth and quickly moved about the room, in the same way bryan acts on a daily basis. Finally he found his way behind the proscenium and as soon as he passed behind the muslin I was able to see a faint image of Bryan’s face appear. The light from the flashlight just touched the muslin and reflected just enough to pick up the contours of Bryan’s face and made him look just like he was floating like the wizards head in The Wizard of Oz.

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Light Observation #10

Posted on April 23, 2012 by previousstudent

DATE-TIME-LOCATION: Tuesday, April 17th-around 5:20pm-the space behind the math hall

OBJECTIVE DESCRIPTION: During a DRAM60 class, I was being led by a scene partner as I was “blind.”  As we walked along the sidewalk, I passed from full, bright sunlight into shade from a tree.

SUBJECTIVE DESCRIPTION: There’s really very little to say about this moment, but I was compelled to take note of it and to share it.  With my eyes closed, all of the detail that light reveals was hidden. I was relying on my hearing, my sense of touch, and my partner’s instructions to navigate; the only visual input that my brain was receiving was the gauge of light that filtered through my eyelids. As I stepped into the shadow, I had one of the most visceral reactions I have ever had.  I literally shied away from this sudden darkness; I took a step back, shrunk down, taking an almost defensive stance, and turned instinctively back toward the direction I had come, toward the light.  I couldn’t believe how strongly I reacted, but I love that it made me revisit how much we rely on sight, and just how important light is in our “normal, everyday” human functioning.


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Photo Observation #10: Dealer’s Choice

Posted on April 23, 2012 by previousstudent

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo taken by Molly Gates

THEME: Innocent

DESCRIPTION: I tried to think of a theme before I looked for a picture, but nothing was panning out, when I remembered that my sister had recently taken a series of pictures that I really liked and posted them on Facebook.  This image wasn’t what I was looking for in the album even, but I kept returning to it because I found it so striking. There’s something about the dimming natural light, and the porch light or whatever it is, that says that this little girl has been having a fantastic afternoon outside and she’s not ready to go inside and settle down just yet. Her mussy little curls that catch the light form what is almost a halo around her face, and the warm quality that the porch light lends to the moment highlights her round, young face. I guess it’s something almost indescribable, but some combination of this low light, the little girl’s expression of unbridled enthusiasm, and the blurred hand that is holding out something fascinating for the camera(wo)man to see captures the essence of that childhood innocence and joy at new experiences that becomes jaded much too quickly today.

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photo observation 10

Posted on April 20, 2012 by previousstudent

Choice

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Photo Observation #9

Posted on April 20, 2012 by previousstudent

http://pinterest.com/pin/16958936066786301/

I really love this photo because it shows something that we normally don’t see: the inside of a cello. this is the place where the beautiful sound reverberates, and the rays of light coming in through the two holes create a sense of magic and wonder.

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Light Observation

Posted on April 20, 2012 by previousstudent

Over spring break, my dad and I decided to go skiing. The only mountain still open was about three hours away, so he took a day off of work and we left super early in the morning so we could get there right when it opened and while it would be cold enough that the snow wouldn’t be slushy. It was about an hour after sunrise when we headed into the mountains.

We were driving through a valley, flat and bedded with tall, tan grasses and a few wildflowers basking in the warmth of the morning sun, when the road suddenly grew dark. Before us was a narrow path shrouded in darkness. The sunlight died where the mountains suddenly rose up out of the flat earth, their steep sides blocking out the sky itself as the road slipped unnoticed beneath their shadows. Every now and then a ray of light would hit the bare peaks above us, giving shape to the shadows, but the could not stretch its fingers far enough to reach us. It was as though these mountains were the last refuge of the night as it strove to withstand the assault of the coming day.

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Photo Observation

Posted on April 20, 2012 by previousstudent

This is a photo I took in Cape Meares Oregon

This photo makes me feel as though I am looking at the doorway into a fairytale. The trunks of the trees rise up out of the Earth to make an arched doorway: on this side of the door is darkness and shadows, but the other side the light shines through making the brilliant green leaves glow with life and magic. There is so much light just behind this archway and so much darkness in front of it that it becomes a sort of barrier or gateway where two worlds meet.

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Lighting Observation 10

Posted on April 20, 2012 by previousstudent

1) 2012-04-08, 10:15 AM, The National Cathedral, Washington DC

2) OBJECTIVE DESCRIPTION: Light through the stained glass windows above the knave hitting a black safety net strung above everybody’s heads.

3) I chose to sit in the rear balcony of the cathedral to be able to take it in all at once.  Of course the building is packed— it’s Easter sunday in one of the largest cathedrals in te United States.  I was dissapointed to see the expansive black netting covering the ceiling of the cathedral: this is a gothic cathedral, a structure designed for great shafts of light to fill the building.  Because of the repairs above, however, they had to protect the general public from falling gargoyles or something like that.  The color and the light of the stained glass above was still visible, but instead of falling to the people and stonework below, the shifting patterns of light played out across the netting above.  One of the best things about stained glass in the morning is you can physically see the sun moving across the sky as the colors change, bend, and shift before you.

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Monet’s Rouen Cathedral – Photo Observation 10

Posted on April 20, 2012 by previousstudent

 

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rouen_Cathedral_(Monet)>

Theme: Dealers Choice

Monet’s Rouen Cathedral, West Facade.  I have so many feelings about these paintings.  They are two of more than thirty paintings of the same church, Rouen Cathedral, all under different levels of light varied by time of day and season.  These two hang next to each other in the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, and I saw them when I was there over spring break.  They play of light across the levels and details of the gothic architecture is stunning, and you see how the change in daylight will obscure or wash out some sections, and create new shapes in others.  Monet perfectly captures the light in these paintings, creating so much with the quick, rough movements of his brush.  You can see the physical paint caking up in sections, the light literally built off of the arches and columns.  I had seen plenty of Monet’s works before, and had always loved his water lilies, but had never seen these before and was absolutely spellbound.  I returned to the National Gallery specifically to return to the impressionists and to this pair a couple days later, and simply stood before them for almost ten minutes.  There are only a few of these in the US— D.C., Los Angeles, and Williamstown, MA… but to see these physically before you is an awe-inspiring experience.

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