Assignment 4: Languages of light 3
In this post I will describe the final images submitted, and the strengths and weaknesses of particular photographs and the project as a whole.
I made the images on shoots on two separate occasions. Contacts for the shoots are here.
Of these images I selected a number that I believe fulfil the ways I set to develop the assignment from Exercise 4.2.
These areas for development are:
“I do not think I have addressed “the beauty of artificial light” in these images”
LED street lights with many light sources in the array, gave a very distinctive pattern of shadows.
“I would like to try and capture more of the interaction between the light and water”
“the reflection of lights from different surfaces creates interesting patterns, unique to the night time”
These elements all relate to the idea of refulgence of the lights, which I would like to capture more.
“The pools of different types of light on the ground here make patterns which could be the subject for further exploration”
This relates to this part of one of my images..
“…many of the images were of artificial lights, not images made by artificial light…
My overall aim is to make images using the artificial light to illuminate the scene.”
Patterns of shadows from LED Lights
I noticed this pattern of shadows from the foliage, seen in the foreground of this image.
This I have also shown in these taken nearby.
Interaction of Light and Water/Reflections
I identified this location and viewpoint which I thought would be enhanced by the artificial lights from the industrial buildings later in the evening. (This image is not part of my submission)
The final images I selected are these:
While these are striking images and might be considered to show a type of beauty, the brightly lit area at the visible end of the industrial site is a lorry wash, not in use at that time. In fact there was very little activity on the site during the time I was taking photographs, so it is difficult to justify these images meeting my own criteria for beauty, that an artificial light source could only be considered to demonstrate “beauty” if it does not harm the environment, either by using excessive and unnecessary energy, and/or contributing to light pollution”.
I also tried to capture the reflections of lights on parked cars, as I indicated in Exercise 4.2.
EYV Ass 4-4
Using the artificial light to illuminate the scene
Developing the idea I had from the work of Duncan Hill, to look at how the lights illuminate foliage I made these images.
The other principle I saw from Duncan Hill is the feeling of being present at night when everywhere is quiet and deserted, and the light gives a different appearance to common scenes. These images try to capture that.
The notes indicate I should evaluate my images against the criteria for creativity – imagination, experimentation, invention.
Making these images has involved a great deal of experimentation on my part, this was a new direction for me. I think that while I have had to use imagination to imagine what the scene would look like at night, I actually learned as I went along that the image my camera produced was distinct and differed from the daylight scene in ways I found difficult to predict at first. I am not sure how inventive I have been, these are all taken in the immediate vicinity of my home.
Andrew Procter 
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