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

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.

  

Photography and The Coronavirus

Having just got over the flu and quarantining myself in the house for 14 days, I found my photographic pursuits rather curtailed during this period.  However, I can look back on it as performing the humane task of not wanting to spread my infection among those I came in contact with.

So if you are a person that is always out and about with a camera in one hand and eyes surveying the world around you, what do you do under a lock yourself up scenario?  My choice to keep my mind and eyes busy was work on some still life photography.

Still life photography began in the 19th century where photographers attempted to copy the style of painters who in paintings depicted inanimate objects as their subjects.  These items can be anything such as household items set on a table in a pleasing composition. 

So, with this type of photography in mind I decided to keep both my camera and eyes busy creating various still life images using simple window light.  I have the good fortune to have a kitchen area that at certain times has both direct sunlight and indirect as the sun changes its path.  What this affords, is a choice of hard light and soft light depending on my subject and what I wish to convey.

Mastering the use of light in photography is as basic as learning how to use the controls on your camera.  Before you consider composition, you should be looking at your subject and how it is lighted.  Because it is really the light that can make your subject stand out and pull the viewer’s eye into your image.  So with the ambient light available to me I used two sheets of black tile, various household objects and light from the window to explore still life photography.   Besides the abundance of light the windows have blinds that offered other benefits such as controlling how the light fell on my subject and patterns created by the slots of light falling on subjects.

All of the images were shot during 14-day isolation.  I particularly enjoy still life photography, because it allows your imagination to create and capture the every day objects you see daily.   Camera used is Sony A7 II, shooting mainly using ambient light.  Any comments can be addressed to nymacc@gmail.com