Light, Color & Gesture -#2

What does Light mean to the photographer and his or her viewer? If photography is the art of light, which I believe is one of the best descriptions of the art form, then light is the paintbrush on our scenes. Light is captured on a two-dimensional plane through digital or chemical means, and is presented to the viewer as an interpretation of a scene, with the photographer as the filter through which what is and isn’t capture, when it is captured, and how it is displayed is passed.

The sources of light are numerous, from the sun, to artificial lights, to electricity or reflections of any of these things. We seek out light in the natural world, shape it to create a scene in a studio, or combine natural and artificial light to make the image say what we want. With light we can create shadow, change moods, and convey motion.

By chasing the light, finding the beautiful light in nature, waiting for just the right moment or scene, the photographer can express a feeling, share a mood, or tell a story in a way that means something special to them. Sometimes merely a few moments different in nature will move the warm golden light of an afternoon into a moody blue of dusk. Or stretching out time lets the light blur over an image, expressing a sense of motion and time.

Ultimately, Photography is the art of light gives us a simple vision that has no limitations on how we can use photography as a tool to communicate how we see the world.