Photo 52: A Play on Light

Directional Lighting - Week 3

Summer is in session and that means many family trips to our local Harlem playgrounds. While taking photos of my oldest son running around the jungle gym, I noticed that my husband was standing in the gazebo covered in light spots.  My beloved reptilian was the perfect subject for our third week of directional light.

 

 

Please continue along to see the rest of Photo 52's images for this week.  Next up is Julie Kiernan, an amazing talent and friend of mine out in Minnesota.   

Photo 52: A Play on Light

Backlight - Week 3

For our third week of backlighting, I decided to go outside with my camera in the very late afternoon as opposed to the early morning which I had done the past two weeks.  Though it was just after 5:00 p.m., I found the sunlight still to be quite intense.  While out walking I stumbled upon a girls lacrosse game taking place in my neighborhood of Harlem.  Maintaining my elevated position outside of the field, I chose to incorporate the fence as a framing element in my shot.   The industrial nature of the fence with its added compositional dimension later inspired me to convert this week's photo to black and white.  Through this month-long study of backlighting, I am discovering that this particular technique used with black and white processing can make quite a nice marriage.  It is definitely something I will continue to practice.  

Please continue along our blog circle to view everyone's take this week using backlighting.  Next up is the amazing and talented Justine Knight, my friend and fellow New York photographer.   

Photo 52: A Play on Light

Shadows - Week 4

"Should not every apartment in which man dwells be lofty enough to create some obscurity overhead, where flickering shadows may play at evening about the rafters?" -Henry David Thoreau

 

For the final week of shadows for Photo 52, a long-term collaborative project I am participating in with several other talented photographers, I decided to shoot indoors.  It was a particularly cloudy forecast this past week in New York City so I worked with a single light source, in this case a small votive candle, to create dramatic shadows that literally danced around its base.  Below is my take for our final week of playing with light and shadows.

​Flickr

Next up in our blog circle is Justine Knight, a talented photographer and friend whose work I admire greatly. Please continue along the chain to view her final shadow image by clicking HERE.   

Photo 52: A Play on Light

Shadows - Week 3

"Most of the shadows of this life are caused by standing in one's own sunshine" - Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

I've found that New York City's early morning has some of the best light and resultant shadows which is this month's overarching theme for Photo 52.  Standing on the balcony of the Columbus Circle train station during a brief moment when the stairs weren't mobbed with people, I was able to capture this young woman in her colorful dress and shoes heading down into the subway.

Staircase stalker​

Next up in our blog circle is the exceptionally talented Lisa Rigazio.  Please continue along the chain to see her latest take on shadows by clicking HERE.   

Photo 52: A Play on Light

Shadows - Week 2

"Our job is to record, each in his own way, this world of light and shadow and time that will never come again exactly as it is today." - Edward Abbey

 

Today's post is for a long-term collaborative project I am participating in with several other talented photographers whom I have worked closely with over the past year.  We are concentrating on light and learning to master its many dynamic forms through monthly overarching themes.  (Our project debut was last week and can be read about in more detail HERE).  The current theme is SHADOWS and below is my image for this week.  

By the way, I turned the image upside down.  It just looked better that way.  

 

Around the track with Papa

Please continue along our blog circle to see Linda Hooper's creative use of shadows by clicking HERE

Photo 52: A Play on Light

Playing with Shadows - Week 1

“Light makes photography. Embrace light. Admire it. Love it. But above all, know light. Know it for all you are worth, and you will know the key to photography.” - George Eastman

 

Ultimately the job of a photographer is to see the light - glowing evening light, ugly indoor light, an absence of light - and decide if and how to use it in the images they take.  With that in mind I am embarking on a 52 week project with a group of talented and diverse women that I have come to know and admire over the past year.  Together we will support and encourage each other to play with light based on a common overarching theme.  Several weeks will be spent exploring each theme so that we can really dig in deep, have fun, and take creative risks.  

Our collective adventure is called Photo 52: A Play on Light (the brainchild of Kelly Roth Patton) and our first month's theme is Shadows.  Here is my take for the Photo 52 debut!

To see everyone else's amazing work, please continue along the chain. Next up in our blog circle is the talented Julie Kiernan.  Take a moment to check out her creative interpretation using shadows.