March 06, 2009
the right light*
Piedmont cemetery, Oakland, Canon Rebel Xti
Light is everything; every photographer knows this. It can turn the most ordinary things into magic, elevate them to a kind of poetry. In the right light, everyone looks more beautiful, more true. It's almost as if you had never really seen them before.
It's an age old metaphor, I know, seeing things in the right light, a different light, etc. But I just saw the connection with photography today. As photographers we are light seekers, beauty hunters, we want to see something extraordinary and we usually do. In a very literal sense, we are trying to see things in the right light so that they please us, are interesting to us, give us the pleasure of appreciating them.
This is a kind of spirtual practice as I see it, a way to move through the world looking for what you can love, what you can be grateful for, what dazzles you about this colorful, amazing world.
Posted on March 6, 2009 07:25 AMBeautiful photo. Beautiful post.
Posted by: Sara at March 13, 2009 08:33 PMBeautiful photo. Beautiful post.
Posted by: Sara at March 13, 2009 08:33 PMBeautiful photo. Beautiful post.
Posted by: Sara at March 13, 2009 08:33 PMBeautiful photo. Beautiful post.
Posted by: Sara at March 13, 2009 08:33 PMOh, this just moved me in a way that I can hardly describe.
Relentlessly seeking beauty is what must be the definition of spirit.
Posted by: Sheila at March 11, 2009 06:52 PMThis is such a great image. Gorgeous light. I love walking through old cemeteries.
Posted by: littlepurplecow at March 11, 2009 05:14 AMI really appreciate this metaphor. One thing I've always found interesting and seductive about photography is that the "right" light for my photos usually doesn't happen on beautiful, sunny days. I'd much prefer to take my photos when it's overcast or foggy or dreary -- it's turned the darker days into days where I love taking the camera and going. Very silver-lining-y if you ask me. :)
Posted by: jen maiser at March 9, 2009 09:34 AMsuch wisdom!~
Posted by: marilee pittman at March 8, 2009 05:21 AMAnd in a way, you can take this idea and apply it to writing. Words can cause a reflection on the page if they are angled correctly.
Posted by: Katherine at March 8, 2009 12:53 AMnot a job really, is it? sometimes maddening yet always juicy journey and, yes, so very spiritual :) your words sum it up perfectly, andrea. thank you.
Posted by: Leslie at March 7, 2009 05:38 PMSo true. And if you look at the root of the word photography, it literally means "drawing with light". You're drawing with light. What a beautiful concept!
Posted by: Darlene at March 7, 2009 02:01 PMSo true. And if you look at the root of the word photography, it literally means "drawing with light". You're drawing with light. What a beautiful concept!
Posted by: Darlene at March 7, 2009 02:01 PMYou have a way with words as well as your lens. I love coming here and just drinking it all in. BTW, was it the intentionally chosen.. the word "LUX". My nerdy mind immediately thinks.. unit of illumination :)
xo..Suganthi aka thodarumm ;)
Posted by: suganthi at March 7, 2009 01:44 PMYep, it's not about the gear, it's all about the light.
Posted by: Eric Hegwer at March 7, 2009 12:31 PMWow Andrea! I never thought I'd see a cemetary or a crypt that was so strangely beautiful.
I usually detest cemetaries with a passion...
However, you have such a gift to make me see even what could be seen as sad and dark, as so filled with lightness and mystery and hope.
Thank you for this photo and your wise words about seeing things in a different light.
As usual, just what I needed to hear today.
:)
Bless you.
Oh, man. The Piedmont cemetery is chock-full of incredible graves and mausoleums. I love that you took advantage of the light and sky to really show it to its full advantage. Creepy and gorgeous. Have you ever been to the Chapel of the Chimes right next door? A great place to wander and wonder in.
Posted by: Zoe at March 6, 2009 10:01 PMabsolutely amazing!!!
Posted by: jennifer buckley at March 6, 2009 09:27 PMYes, exactly! Beautifully said, I believe it certainly is spiritual. Gorgeous photo, too.
Posted by: Lola @ Sacred Curiosities at March 6, 2009 06:35 PMBoy do I need to find a different light to see things in today. Thanks for this lovely metaphor. I'm going to find the beautiful in my life today and try to stop looking at the scary bits so much. x
Posted by: Marianne at March 6, 2009 01:03 PMYou are too cool...
From Wikipedia:
The LUX (symbol: lx) is the SI unit of illuminance and luminous emittance. It is used in photometry as a measure of the apparent intensity of light hitting or passing through a surface. It is analogous to the radiometric unit watts per square metre, but with the power at each wavelength weighted according to the luminosity function, a standardized model of human brightness perception. In English, "lux" is used in both singular and plural.[1]
Go ahead, Miss DEEP! Be Profound on a Friday morning. w00t!
Posted by: Shelley Noble at March 6, 2009 11:41 AMI walked down to Lake Michigan for lunch today (60 degrees in Chicago today!) to take a few photos. I'm a new photographer, and on the way back, I was asking myself, "What do I want to take photos of? I could walk around this city all day, take 1,000,000 photos and still not be pleased. What am I trying to say? What's my intent here?"
My conclusion was exactly as you articulated above.
Posted by: Megan at March 6, 2009 11:34 AMThis has been my practice with me and my camera of late. Find the beautiful, the true in the ordinary so that we do not walk past it, day after day. The freesias are blooming today, I want to notice that, i want to be taken aback. Follow the light, in life and death, follow the light...
Posted by: Puanani at March 6, 2009 10:28 AMthis rings so true for me today. i just began two projects (one photography, one poetry) which invite me to see the beauty in the everyday. at this point, these projects are purely for my own creative and spiritual growth. it just feels necessary. so incredibly necessary.
Posted by: emily at March 6, 2009 09:41 AM