Drama 16 Stage Lighting

1)  3/6/12 – 12:22 PM – Outside of student center, walking between theater and tower.

2) OBJECTIVE DESCRIPTION: I was walking to class and the sun was at high noon and was very bright and unobstructed. there was a shadow cast by the student center on the sidewalk but there were blurry reflections of light from the windows of the towers all over the ground.

3) SUBJECTIVE DESCRIPTION: I was walking to my first afternoon class at around 12:30 on tuesday. I was rushing across the parking lot and onto the corridor between the student center theater and Alliance tower. As I passed between the two buildings, I noticed something very strange happening with the lighting around me. The sun was burning brightly, and very high in the sky. Only the tallest buildings were casting shadows. In front of me, the only building to be casting any shadows on the path in front of me was the shadow of the student center. As I approached the shadow on the ground, I thought hardly anything of it; it was just a shadow after all.

As I began to walk directly on top of the shadow on the sidewalk I realized the irregularity of the situation I was in. The sunshine was beaming off of all of the windows from Alliance and Bill Of Rights. With the angle that the two buildings were in relation to sun seemed to make the area where I was walking, the area with the shadow, the focal point for all of the reflections. The pools of light that were making it to the ground were all very unfocused but there was a clear mess of bright spots all over the shadowed sidewalk below me. As my body passed through this haystack of lights I noticed that my shadows were being cast in multiple directions. I felt as though I was in a circus surrounded by a bunch of mirrors. Like what you see in the movies when characters are watching their bodys walking all around them from the reflections of the mirrors all around them. It was a very cool feeling and one that opened my eyes up to all of the angles and sources all around me.

1. Thursday February 29th 1:00am Lowe 201

2. Street lamps on Adams quad shining in the windows

3. Due to the time of night and clouds the light seemed to be contained within the four buildings around the quad and when that go let into the classroom there were so many angles that the shadows overlapped making the wall look more like a forest rather than just one tree’s shadow. I liked this moment because I first saw it as spooky but as I saw each branch’s shadow it became mysterious, demonstrating the multiple impressions of shadows.

1. Wednesday 6pm walking from Bits to the NAB in the small hall across from the museum
2. It seemed to be either a headlight or landscape lighting source at ankle height through a wirey bush creating a small crisp image on the brick.
3. The shades were the first things that popped out at me when passing by as I was rushing to a meeting but this small 2 foot square caught me off guard. It was almost like a gobo in that it was scaled down and tucked away in the back entrance of Bits. The lighting for the entire hall was dim which made this section stick out that much more. The clear outline of each branch was something I have never seen naturally, only in a light lab with complete control of ambient light. The shades added a spooky and other worldly feel.

2. http://www.smashinglists.com/25-marvelously-captured-shadows/

3.Shadows

4. This is a photo with a lot of ambient light that creates the right conditions for this shadow to happen. Judging by the bright light and green surrounding the shadow I would assume its spring time as things are blossoming. Many may look at this eight-legged shadow coming down on them as menacing but I think the spider fits right into the world of spring. The fuzzy outline and clearly portioned spider indicates that the source is directly above to object and probably far away. This shadow has some movement to it. It suggests that the spider is either coming or going from that spot on the leaf and this shadow is simply the impression he is leaving.

A photo I took at the abandoned LA Zoo in Griffith Park, Los Angeles< CA

THEME: Shadows

Visiting this abandoned zoo was the creepiest, most surreal experiences I’ve had a chance to document and photograph.  The original zoo was opened in 1918, and most of the buildings we visited were build as WPA projects in the 30s.  Closed in the 1960s and rebuilt at another site, the original site was eventually converted into a picnic area with cages and buildings left to crawl around in.

While we were never sure quite what lived in the cages, the standard setup was a public “viewing” pen below, and a staircase leading up to cages and beds behind.  I came to the top of the stairs and turned the corner to be hit by this sight.  All traces of life there were gone, only steel bars and Guillotine doors, concrete and brick—all covered in graffiti.  Light poured through the cage door and the stairs at the other end of the hall.  The bars on the “kennel” broke the sunlight across the floor.  Most places the cage doors on the outer walls were bolted shut, but with this one open, natural light illuminated up the cold and forgotten home that was once a reality for the zoo’s residents day in and day out.  There is no warmth in this place, even the sunlight that makes it in is dull and greyed.

 2. Lauronsky’s Flickr Photostream, Photo of the British Museum’s Great Court

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauronsky/2539931859/

3. Shadows

4. The glass roof of the British Museum’s Great Court projects a geometric image of stacked triangles onto the interior walls of the space. This picture is particularly beautiful because the light has such an unusual, cool teal quality which makes the photograph seem almost underwater. The shadows themselves  are distorted and pulled by the curve of the wall and and twisted almost beyond recognition by the stairs. The absence of people in this photo, coupled with the strange greenish lighting and distorted patterns creates an otherworldly uncomfortable atmosphere suitable for a tomb. It is especially appropriate because what is a museum if not a tomb for beauty?

2. http://www.meterdown.com/2009/06/31-interesting-selection-of-shadow-arts-pictures.html

3. Shadows

4. I love the unnatural yet natural feel of this image. The length of the shadow makes the two figures seem inhuman and yet they are doing such a human action. Furthermore the contrast between the very green grass and the darkness of the shadow is beautiful and really makes the shadow stand out. It must have been very bright out when this picture was taken.

Photo taken by Nic Christopher on August 31st at around 3:00 PM

THEME: Shadows

DESCRIPTION: This photo was taken on a relatively clear day in the city right across the street from St Patrick’s cathedral. It was taken as the sun was going down yet still high enough in the sky to cast light down onto the buildings, unobstructed from the buildings surrounding the cathedral. I love this picture because not including the sepia tone, it is entirely untouched in post production. The way the sun cast its light onto the buildings and the fact that statue was completely covered by the shadows provided an illusion of a photo montage even though the composition was untouched.

The intricate patterns and cut outs etched into the side of the cathedral offered a playground for the sun’s rays to cast shadows all over the wall. The intensity of the sunlight emphasized every raised surface on the cathedral. The shadows behind these highlighted portions offer an amazing contrast on the building making it appear 3-D in the flattened image. In the foreground of the image ties the piece all together as the building to the right had cast a shadow over the entirety of the statue. The dark figure placed against the bright background offers a wonderful contrast that makes the viewer seem as if they are right there. When I study the  picture, I can sense the angle of the sun and the approximate placement of all the structures that surrounded me as I snapped this picture. The sun was at a perfect angle that day and at a perfect intensity to capture a moment with a melody of intense lighting accented with soft and harsh shadows to make the image come to life and bring the viewer to 50th and 5th on this august afternoon.

Date/Time/Location: February 9th 3am Farmingdale NY my back yard

Objective: The moonlight shining across the grass, furniture, and porch. There is so much light it seems almost like day light. The moon light is coming the opposite side of the house creating some shadows.

Subjective: First I should say that a lot of my emotional response comes from that most nights when I come home the back yard is only lit by the motion light, so the fact that this area is lit before I walked by the light intrigued me. It also made me notice the quality of light. That night there was a nearly full moon with no clouds in the sky allowing an even wash of light over the entire area and the space to create its shadows. As I turned the corner my first impulse was eerie since I was unsure if anyone else was there but after seeing it was only the moonlight it became the lighting that we associate with an anticipation moment. Looking in on the light something seems out of place but once you are immersed in the light as well its almost warm and inviting while keeping you on your toes. There is the slightest tint of blue in the light cooling the whole scene off and putting everything in the same color palette. Its like a screen for your eyes awaiting for the anticipated action.

1. February 8th 2012, 6:00 PM outside the NAB on Hofstra campus.

2. The light from the Halogen lights on the West side of Emily Lowe  fell across the silver wall of the NAB, the bare branches between them casting shadows on the wall.

3. It’s cold today.  The sky is a bluish-grey.  A bit of snow is falling, but not thick enough to alter the light around us.  The sun is nearly set, but without the glowing splendor we’ve come to enjoy at Hofstra—All dusk means tonight is that the lights come on while the sky turns to dark.  The lights have come on, if we were on the other side of the building, the red-orange glow could easily be mistaken for the last rays of sunset.  The shadows of the trees are distinct: sharp, dark and slightly foreboding.  It’s a gobo in a halloween scare-show.  Or maybe Snow White’s nightmare-filled woods.  Perhaps the bare forest in a New England winter as Abigail Williams and her friends dance in the outskirts of Salem.  Hofstra University is not a scary place (gunshots heard from Hempstead notwithstanding).  This single location, this single splash of light and color, however, catches for a moment a classic image of terror.