The Chiaroscuro Effect

I basically see the scene as a whole and then dissect it into its separate parts...choosing which parts excite my eyes.  It can be the simplicity of the lines or simply the light falling on the subject that seems to extract it from the scene.  Like most photographers…I follow the light.

 

In this series of photographs the question you might ask is the item in the image the focal point or is it the light?  You might call it the Chiaroscuro effect, an Italian term that refers to intense contrast of light and dark in art.  So, the question remains, what is the main subject of these images?

All images shot using window light with Sony A7II camera…I can be contacted at nymacc@gmail.com

Shop of Souls

Photography is a mix of reality and fiction.  As a photographer you are constantly experimenting with the process.  The images you make are specific to experiences you saw and felt at a specific time and place.  This is the case when recently I visited an antique shop.

There is something almost surreal about antique shops.  From the moment you enter you become enveloped in a maze of the past while still in the present.   As you move thought the aisles this world of forgotten items seem to jump out at you.   It is a small-contained world of memories that become mixed with your own.

The lighting in these emporiums of treasured items tends to be a mixture of overhead lighting, which is not exactly favorable for photographing because of the shadows it creates.  But while the lighting may present a technical challenge it also helps to add a certain shadowy mystery to the objects being photographed.    

As you walk down the aisles you become aware of the many abandoned souls that seem to be looking back at you.  They all have a story to tell, but now they are forever silent.  So, welcome to the shop of abandoned souls.

All images shot using a SonyA7II Camera.  I can be contacted at nymacc@gmail.com

 

Book Me

I do have a fondness for still life photography.   It is sort of like painting, you have a blank canvas before you, that you build upon one object at a time until the final subject is completed.

Still life photography unlike other types of photography that we are all familiar with like street, landscape or flowers…in still life you control the creation of the image.  You choose the subject, arrange it and light it anyway to your choosing.  You really have complete control of the creative process. which is a reaffirmation of your composition and lighting skills…and can also be a learning process as you work through building the image.

 

In this series of still life images I have chosen to include books in a series of images.  Because I am using other objects along with the book arrangements, it sometimes become questionable, is it the books or the accessory object that are the main subject?  However, in this series of images it really doesn’t matter because the images are left to the viewer to decide what within the image draws their attention.  I prefer to follow a minimal approach with not too many objects in the image. The main lighting for most of the images is early morning window light with sometimes a small handheld portable light to highlight  an area, this combined with a black background to produce a Rembrandt style image.

Camera used SONY A7II…I can be contacted at nymacc@gmail.com for any inquiries about this post or past posts.

Catching the Light

 

Long days where light and shadows kiss

And light stretches across the floor 

In a never ending line ending on a distant wall

Where a shadow seems to move in rhythm 

As one try’s to catch the light.

Light moves quickly and the shadows are sure to follow.  And, as it creeps through cracks in the blinds, a dance begins with its partner the darkness.   The light dances across the walls and floors in a never ending dance forming shadowy shapes.

Alfred Stieglitz, the photographer said, “Where there is light one can photograph.”  Yes that is true, but first you must see the light.  This blog is about observing the light and shadows it creates during one day I spent observing it within my space.  

All images were made using a Sony A7II camera using natural window light.