Light

Tomorrow, my first assignment is due in photography. Since the whole art of it is actually as simple as "capturing light", in the literal sense of the word, this was of course our first test. We were asked to bring in a final based on three types of light - Hard, Diffused, and Mixed. Though it seems simple, not every picture is easy to put in one of those categories. After many hours editing, some deliberation, and trying to put them in the right categories, I came up with three images I liked best for each category.

Hard light was the first category. Though Skidmore campus at 2:30 am (a photo found in a previous entry on this blog) was a contender, the ultimate that won out was one of the several photos from NeedleWurks. Originally intended for my internship, I never got to use these for prints so I in fact doubled over and decided they'd be fitting in this assignment. Similarly, I chose those shot with the seeming perfect light, but kept it in color this time.



Next was diffused light. Since this is winter, this is the easiest light to find. It's all about light being reflected or coming through surfaces, or that soft natural look you get on a cloudy day. After an outing with Grady, I was under the impression I'd choose a shot from around town of some of my favorite locations we drove to. However, The simple shot of my dirtied hands won out over the mansion stated with KEEP OUT, or the creepy motel a few streets over. And this one was simply taken in my bathroom. For my own purposes, I converted it to black and white. This I doubled over however, tomorrow in prints review for my internship I plan to present it also as a self portrait. We'll see how both classes take it.



Last was Mixed light. Until this weekend, I had nothing. For some reason, I struggled most with this one. Not because I didn't know what it was, but because it was hard to find something aesthetically pleasing and actually interesting while physically thinking about finding mixed light. The clearest way I could think of was outdoor natural light, which is diffused most days this season, paired with indoor tungsten light. Since they are different color temperatures, captured right, the blue and yellow contrast each other in a nice way. While I happened to be out shooting Alissa this weekend for my internship (yet again), I happened to catch some of this in the music center where we were taking photographs. Edited this morning, I found this to be the perfect mix, and my ass was saved.



Review is tomorrow afternoon in class, and I hope all goes well. Though I had a hard time choosing these, and kind of feel like I'm cheating when I am using the hands for both photography class and my internship, I think I have started in a good position.