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.

  

Shadowy Abstracts

Photography is an art form that allows you to express yourself through the images you create.  While we tend to focus on light and how we use it to create images, we forget that the light is really nothing without the shadows.  The shadows are what define our subject.

The other day while cleaning up in my kitchen I noticed the shadows cast by a wine glass on the counter.  The bright sunlight pouring through the kitchen window created a shadowy abstract shape.

I decided to experiment with this observation by using different types of glasses and a white sheet of paper.  I found that by allowing the paper to curl upward toward the back, the shadows cast by the sunlight through the glasses created a series of distorted shadowy images, that seem to twist and turn depending on their placement.  The images presented here are examples of how light and shadows interact with each other within an image. 

All images shot using a Sony A7II camera using natural window light.                                       

 

One Image Per Day-Part One

During this period of COVID-19 semi-quarantine,  I have explored the idea of making one image per day within my limited space called house.  It is a means of keeping my sanity as a photographer and allowing me to experiment with the art of seeing.

So, for seven days I decided to create one image for each day of the week.   Picking up the camera each day has a positive effect on my psyche.  I find it to be a way of rejuvenating my visual senses and challenging my creative thoughts.  

All images shot using a SONY A7II camera.  You can address all comments to me at nymacc@gmail.com

 

The Light and Shadows of Lockdown

There is a certain feeling of darkness coupled with loneliness during this period of COVID-19, but there is also a light spilling through this gloom.   This again is a photo essay compiled with images that express feelings of isolation.

If this period of self-isolation has taught me anything as a photographer, it is how the small things around me can be visible definitions, or glimpses into this isolation.  The invisible has become visible.  The light and shadows around me have helped give visual reality to these feelings of bleakness that my camera helps me record.

The light streaming through the windows is a dance between light and darkness.  As the light moves from surface to surface, shapes become defined.   These shapes are small parts of my existence.  My senses have become acute to the various items I see or maybe don’t see.  And, as I photograph these items that seem to hide in the shadows, it has strengthened my  ability to see and feel this light and shadows.  There is certain aesthetics in the shadows because they define the light and that which it falls upon.  The question of course arises, what more is hidden in the shadows?  It is therefore, this creative process that makes my isolation palatable.

The images for this blog were shot using a Sony Alpha7II camera…during morning hours when the light is coming through the windows from the east and at it’s strongest.  If you like this blog and want to reach me, I can be reached at nymacc@gmail.com