I keep saying over and over, like a broken record, that the three biggest influencers in my photography are Light, Color, and Design.
If you think about it, the only two organically raw materials that any photographer has to work with, are light and time. Click.
“Available light is any damn light that is available!” ~ W. Eugene Smith
Light doesn’t just determine what I shoot but when, how, where, and even why I shoot.
Light isn’t something, it’s everything.
Light in photography has its own very magical and mystical pulls and prompts.
When you learn to hear and heed them, in your head and heart, your hands and camera will happily follow. Click.
I tend to see the properties and qualities of light, long before I see the subject itself.
For, gadhhh forbid, in many of my compositions, light is the subject.
“Wherever there is light, one can photograph.” ~ Alfred Stieglitz
Understanding and appreciating light is a matter of the heart.
The more you lean into the mysteries of light, the more she reveals to you.
Without light, there is no photography.
“You’ve got to taste the light, like my friend and fellow shooter Chip Maury says. And when you see light like this, trust me; it’s like a strawberry sundae with sprinkles.” ~ Joe McNally
With each iteration of the iPhone camera, this marvel of modern technology gets better and better.
And the best news of all, the sensors, lenses, and pixels are becoming more sensitive to light, to help each of us, to photographically realize that light is everything in photography.
Light, love her like no other. Spend time with her. Appreciate her natural beauties. See how, objects and subjects, in her sole presence, take on new meaning, messages, and magnificence. Humble yourself in her mighty presence and she will exalt you.
Click,
Jack
