Blog

Photo 52: A Play on Light {39}

Directional Light, Week One

I closed out last month with a portrait of our small guy, while bemoaning the chilly temperatures we were experiencing at the time. Apparently my displeasure was noted, because this week's similarly-composed portrait was taken in scorching 90F temperatures and pounding sun. Any chance we could just get a nice, comfortable 75F with a light breeze?

Directional light can be interpreted in a multitude of ways. I think of it as using a strong light source and shadows to accentuate a subject, but unlike our month on hard light, this is more about creating dimension or interest using the direction of a light source, so backlight or a softer side light would work as well. My fellow circle members are often a bit more articulate about the monthly description so I recommend taking a peek at what they have to say about it, in addition to their beautiful imagery.  

Here, my light source is midday sun and I loved the little "freckles" on his face created by the shadow of the hat, as well as the incredible light reflecting off the bright scene into his eyes. 

​

Next, please check out the work of my dear and talented friend, Cheryl Sawyer. She has also been a hot child in the city this week, so please take a peek to see what she found to kick off this new month and continue around the circle!​

Photo 52: A Play on Light {35}

It's a new month and a new topic for Photo 52. Throughout May we will be focusing on  diffuse light. The soft nature of diffuse light can make an image feel very flat, but it can also add texture and mood. This image was taken during a rainy, hazy night and the moisture in the atmosphere turned the harsher glare of the street lights into something resembling watercolors. 

Please continue around the blog circle starting with my dear friend Kami Chaudhery, who is all too familiar with diffuse light after a year under the grey skies of Seattle. ​

Photo 52: A Play on Light {34} - Night Light

In our final week of April, Photo 52 members are focusing on night light. I love shooting at night so for our focus week I decided to attempt it with a lens that I don't quite love. It's a little too slow and a little too long for me to shoot the way I normally do on the crowded streets. But it was fun to try and allowed me to focus in on the details. I'm guessing the irony was lost on this particular individual, but I found this visual amusing. 

Please continue around the circle to my friend Jill Cassara in Ann Arbor. She has undertaken a light study on a local sculpture and her images for morning, afternoon and evening have been ​very unique and beautiful. I can't wait to see what she has in store at night. 

Photo 52: A Play on Light {33} - Evening Light

Spring has finally come to New York and for this week's edition of Photo 52, I found the blooms of the cherry blossoms impossible to resist. Central Park is stunning right now, and my opportunity to photograph in evening light presented itself earlier this week as I took a walk through the park with some old friends who picked the perfect time to come through town. I tinkered with the processing in these images in an effort to try and match the visual textures to the feeling of the mild but gritty breeze blowing that evening. 

​Please continue around the blog circle to enjoy the evening hour with my fellow participants, starting with the incredibly talented Sarah Romer Davis up in Harlem. 

Photo 52: A Play on Light {32} - Midday Sun

In this month's P52 we are enjoying the longer hours of sunlight and exploring light at different times of day. This week is afternoon light. My shots were taken on one of the first nice days we've had this Spring and half of New York was out in Central park to enjoy it. 

Please continue around the circle to my extremely talented friend Justine Knight. She has been traveling to Australia so her post is sure to be both beautiful and jealousy-inducing. ​

Photo 52: A Play on Light {30} - Stampede in Grand Central

Photographer's choice! Rather than subject our blog circle to a fifth week of artificial light, we decided to make this last weekend in March a bonus week instead. However, I found my fun moment of the week under the glare of some truly hideous artificial light and would love to share it anyway. 

​Down at Grand Central this past week, Nick Cave (of soundsuit fame) partnered with dancers from Alvin Ailey to bring "Heard," a very fun piece of performance art to the public. Beautiful costumes, dancing horses, harps and drums - all for free!

Also, do not miss the end of P52's March madness, starting with the wonderful Julie Kiernan in Minnesota. She's been traveling as of late, so her image may be from somewhere a little warmer than usual this week. ​

​

Photo 52: A Play on Light {26}

It is week 26 of Photo 52: A Play on Light and we are officially half way done! It is hard to believe that six months have passed since we embarked on this project. If you are new to the blog, my debut post explaining Photo 52 can be found here. 

​This is our first of four weeks exploring artificial light sources. And what could possibly be more artificial than the neon glow of Times Square? Processed for a little extra sense of commercialism and nary a natural light source to be found.

Please head on over to the East Side to see what my talented friend and fellow New Yorker Cheryl Sawyer found under the glow of something other than the sun. ​

Photo 52: A Play on Light {24}

Week three of black and white. I got a fun new gadget this week and took it out to play. It's called a Lensbaby and it is a manual focus lens that gives a tilt-shift look to an image. Manual focus is not my forte so it was fun to practice. 

Please continue around the circle and see what else my talented friends are seeing in monochrome this week, starting with the lovely and talented Kennedy Tinsley up north of the border.

Photo 52: A Play on Light {23} - Snow Day

Week two of visualizing in black and white! Emphasis on white - I have a suspicion that I will not be the only east coaster featuring the snow we got over the weekend .  When you don't have a backyard, sometimes you have to go to new heights to get a snowman built. And pay him a visit before bedtime to make sure he's still there.

Please head uptown to see what my amazing friend Jessie Wixon found this week. Her shot this week is absolutely incredible.

Photo 52: A Play on Light {22}

For the next four weeks, Photo 52 will be focused on visualizing in black and white. I am a big fan of black and white imagery in general, but it takes some practice and focus to shoot specifically with the intent of converting to black and white. Not enough contrast and dimensional light and you end up with a very flat image. As I went out to shoot with this objective in mind, I was reminded that it is no small feat, especially under the grey skies of winter. Some of my favorites actually ended up being from indoor lighting. 

Please check out the rest of this week's amazing circle, starting with the lovely and talented Kim Dupree! Kim lives in Texas and specializes in seniors, but often has beautiful and unusual surprises up her sleeve when it comes to her weekly posts. 

Happy Birthday, Grand Central Terminal!

We headed out to look at the trains today, mainly as an excuse to get out of the house while still avoiding the cold. We happened upon a wonderful exhibit for the 100th anniversary of Grand Central. The history of the building, as well as current expansion projects, are incredibly interesting. If you have a moment, I recommend stopping by. 

Photo 52: A Play on Light {21} - Pinhole Camera

A Room with a View

ss 6.0, f2.8, IS0 6400 (he sat REALLY still)

Photo 52: natural indoor light, week four. For those unfamiliar with our project, please start here. 

Last fall, fellow Photo 52 participant Justine Knight and I took a course at the International Center of Photography. Our teacher, Irina Rozovsky, introduced us to the work of a photographer named Abelardo Morell.  He has a beautiful collection of images in his Camera Obscura project and ever since seeing how he turns rooms into giant pin hole cameras, I have been determined to try it. Project 52's last week of natural indoor light seemed like the perfect time. While my images do not compare to his, the experiment was still so much fun that even the wiggliest among us sat still long enough to be included in the photos. 

To create these images, I covered the window in black garbage bags, shutting out all light. Then I cut a hole about the size of a quarter into the middle of the bag. The view from outside came streaming into the room, inverted due to the way the light bounces through the pin hole. The scene was not quite as clear as this to the naked eye but with a long exposure, the vibrant colors of the buildings and the sunny sky came out beautifully. We could even see traffic moving on the ceiling from light glinting off cars on the street below. To quote my father, "Physics is Fun." 

ss 5.0, f2.8, IS0 6400 

Please continue around the circle to see how everyone else is closing out our month on indoor natural light. Next up, Cheryl Sawyer!

Photo 52: A Play on Light {20}

Week 20 of Photo 52, and week three of natural light indoors.

More fun with windows. As to who was having more fun, that is up for debate. 

Please continue around the circle to see what else Photo 52 participants have been up to this week, starting with my talented friend and fellow New Yorker, Cheryl Sawyer.

Photo 52: A Play on Light {19}

A walk with Kermit.

It's week 2 of natural indoor light, this time found in what amounts to an urban tunnel. 

Please continue along the circle to see what the other Photo 52 participants have found this week, starting with Jill Cassara. Jill lives in Ann Arbor and has an amazing ability to capture her beautiful children at the most perfect moments.