a year of light, week eleven
...make your own magic
‘The transformative powers of light can be breathtaking. It turns simple every day objects into something that triggers emotion and intrigue. In ‘for the love of the photograph’ I share about light and how it can literally change the face of your photography.
We and all that grow need light to survive and flourish. Without light we would be like moles in the darkness forever seeking, unable to see the world and all its many colours, contrasts and contours. And ofcourse, without light there would be no photography.
As many of you I’m sure already know, in Latin the word photograph derives from light - photo meaning light, graph meaning to write, to photograph meaning ‘to write with light’.
Photographers can sometimes be heard saying ‘there’s no light or there was no light’ and there were times when I used to say the same. It was about eight years ago when I started to shift my thinking, I realised that unless it’s pitch black there is always some kind of light’
P72, an adapted passage from For the Love of the Photograph by Chloe Lodge
I’ve had some gorgeous feedback from those who have been journeying with us seeking light over the past ten weeks. Some are immersing themselves in the beauty of natural light, some finding it hard due to cloudy days and a lack of light to fall in love with.
This week there are no excuses!!!
This week I’m encouraging you to seek… or indeed create with ‘flash light’.
Indoors, outdoors, simply discovering, creating a stage with the light in your hand. You could also do light writing as a creative exercise. My example above is a combination of slow shutter and seeking. It was raining and I loved how the light streaks echoed the feeling of the driving rain. It was my way of elevating the story.
Light writing can be achieved with a single light source - someone with their phone is the simplest. The camera ideally on a tripod set with a super slow shutter to allow the light trail to be captured.
This is not the only time we will focus on night shooting during this year so just relax, have fun, explore and create.
Keep tagging me and stay curious.
Allow your light to shine,
CW x
