Tuesday, October 2, 2012

The interception of light . . .




"Find beauty not only in the thing itself but in the pattern of the shadows,
the light and dark which that thing provides."

- Junichiro Tanizaki


Welcome to a new month and to our new theme . . . sunshine and shadows.

I'm not sure if there is a photographer that isn't driven by the light. That beautiful, elusive, golden light. The kind of light that makes one get up early, or miss dinner (sorry family) in pursuit of that perfect light. In fact it's the light that has really become my subject and for me the challenge is to find something to photograph with it.

When we have the interception of that light . . . it creates shadows. And light, and the absence of it, plays a huge part in determining the mood in our images.

Sometimes the very object that creates the shadow can't be seen . . .




And sometimes it's very necessary for it to be visible.




It can feel cheerful . . .




 . . .  or a little on the dramatic side, adding details, where the shadow can also become a reflection,




and maybe even a little mysterious?



The play of light and shadow can help us put depth in our images . . .




. . . . and sometimes the subject becomes the shadow in the form of a silhouette.




And by the length of the shadows we can get a sense of time, as in the morning and late afternoon when the sun is low in the sky, we get longer shadows. (who doesn't love being a little taller)




Shadows can even be fun to create, just ask the rabbit! ; )




 "The other day when I was walking through the woods, I saw a rabbit standing in
front of a candle making shadows of people on a tree."

- Stephen Wright


So, your mission, should you choose to accept (and I sure hope you do), is to play with the light and dark
through your viewfinder. Let's compose a little fun, add a little drama, evoke some emotion. Show us some sunshine and shadows . . . . and then add them to our Flickr group to be considered for our weekly InFocus selection and featured here on our blog!

Happy Tuesday!






12 comments:

heyjudephotography said...

Kim, I love your photos here! And the Steven Wright quote made me laugh out loud! (I saw him perform a few years ago..so funny). Anyway, photography IS light. Without it we'd be looking at black rectangles when we looked at a photo! hahaha And the addition of shadow does make a photo so interesting. This will be such a fun month to look in our flickr group! Good job Kim!

heyjudephotography said...

And too bad it's overcast with drizzle here today - can't wait to shoot some sunshine and shadows!

Claudia said...

Great theme for this next month when the days seem to be shorter. (we wont get into that day light savings time LOL) all your photos are such great examples of thoughtful light and shadow. (NOW tell me which one you want to use for the button and I will get it made :)

Hugs

Kim Stevens said...

I'm pretty sure I laughed out loud when I first read that one too! And speaking of, I decided yesterday to take that last photo, so I cut out my girl and stapled it to a stick and went outside really early to get the shot while the sun was still low and as I'm holding my girl on a stick in one hand and my camera in the other my neighbor walks by and just looks at me...I gave her a quick explanation that I'm on this blog and our theme for the month is shadows ... and she just looks at me and says with some hesitation, well, that's interesting (with a question mark in her voice). I did warn her when she moved in that she might find me in some strange situations with my camera! haha

I hope I can push myself to get some really interesting shadows this month too! fingers crossed the overcast doesn't last long. . .

Kim Stevens said...

Okay, I'll pick door number two, the beach shadow!

Dotti said...

Oh, I love each and every one of these photos, Kim! And I think we're all in agreement - without light, we'd be doing something else for a "living". Like Judy, I have to wait for the sun to come out here but Claudia's spot on - the light in the fall is a photographer's paradise. So, patience, grasshopper, and your turn will come.

Warning: Fun month ahead ... and I promise it's addictive.

PS - I might steal your little girl idea - that might be one my granddaughter would like to help with.

xo

Kim Stevens said...

Thanks and Oh Dotti please do, I am really looking forward to everyone's creative interpretations!

Anonymous said...

Wonderful, wonderful pictures, and what a fun theme! Thank you!
Elisa.

leigh said...

Gorgeous photos Kim! Such a great theme and I look forward to seeing everyone's light and shadow!

stephmull said...

love all the photos! And I can't wait for this month's theme! Perfect for this time of year and the changing light!

terriporter said...

Just popped back in to see everyone's comments and find that mine is gone! I posted it early today. ??? Not the first time this has happened to me, so I'm not sure what happens. Anyhow . . . I LOVE this theme! As has been said, where would we photographers be without light? Your example photos are such an inspiration and I can't wait to see all the great shots I know this will elicit from everyone!

Ida said...

Fun post. I really enjoyed all your great photo's. The last one was so fun.

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