still life # 14 ~ it is what it is
Wednesday, September 15, 2010 at 03:08PM 
Mason jar with water and flowers • click to embiggenI feel somewhat compelled to explain more fully my feeling about light. That is to say, just light, not "the light".
As I have stated many times, I don't chase the light. If a special / notable / spectacular light - AKA, "the light" - comes my way, I may (or not) make a picture in which "the light" has a prominent and/or featured role. Whether I make a picture or not is most often dependent upon being in the vicinity of an interesting subject which "the light" is illuminating.
That said, light, in and of itself, is one the key ingredients with which we all make pictures. In that sense, light is not unlike a piece of necessary equipment - like a camera, lens, tripod, etc. - that is part of the picture maker's kit. Like your gear, you don't leave home without it.
That said, light is, quite obviously, an obvious visual component in the pictures we make. Bright light, dim light, contrasty (hard) light, flat (soft) light, warm light, cool light, directional (side, front, back) light, mixed light sources - they all help determine both the look and the feel of our pictures. And, to that end, George Eastman was right on the money when he stated - Embrace light. Admire it. Love it. But above all, know light.
If one knows light, one can use it to achieve very specific results when the picture making objective demands it.
Case in point, Mason jar with water and flowers - Part of my objective in making the picture was to accurately portray the primarily muted / faded / soft colors of the decaying flowers. That quality of the subject is what initially caught my eye / attention and is what caused me to want to picture it. However, I also wanted the subject's texture to be part of the visual equation as well.
In order to achieve those results, I used a soft directional (side) light. To create the soft light I was looking for I could have used one of my lightbanks together with my studio strobe lighting equipment. Or, I could have used the artist's classic natural north light - the soft indirect light that comes through a north-facing window. The picturing results, using either light source, would be remarkably similar.
All of that said, for most of my picturing endeavors in which I am merely trying to picture what I see, the light is just light. Therefore, with my picturing objective of picturing what I see firmly planted in my head, the light that I see is always "perfect" for my picturing needs.
Reader Comments (2)
Your explanation of what works for you sounds perfectly reasonable to me. What baffles me, however, is your reluctance to accept what might work for you may not work for someone else and vice-versa.
I have absolutely no issue with those whom your categorize as "light chasers." They are doing what they thing is right for their photography, just like you do what you think is right for your photography.
Nice -- it's a cross between a still life and a product shot.
I presume the glass jar is sitting on some [stiff] matt white paper that is bent up to also form the background?