Weekly Photo Challenge - Light

[Datura]

malikyte -- I think this format here is a great one. The weekly change forces you to think creatively. Abstract. This one: Light, can be applied to so many things, even indoors. You have to forget about pre-conceived ideas or portfolios. I do not have one either, never took many photos at all, but that is the challenge. It will train your eye.

As I sit here and look around me, there are many pictures that would fit this theme: eyeglasses, reflection and light in them, mirroring the window, because they are on the window sill. A vase, light shining through and making the stems of the flowers appear crooked, the light under the vase, tinted by the color of the glass …

My eyes are trained of course, have been a painter for a long time, so picking interesting things is not so very hard for me, only the technical side right now.

But you just have to think anew, become more aware.

[brandaggio]

Speaking of which - Raffles - what is the subject of your fourth shot? I would like to guess but I really am not sure.

Your first reminds me of how I sometimes feel in Manhattan, with everything zooming by - great effect. The fifth one reminds me of "Pink Floyd" (the power station/band's namesake, especially if it was zoomed a bit).

I really like them - your work continues to impress me.

-----

Update:
Don't know why I thought some people referred to Battersea Power Station as Pink Floyd - and somewhere along the way I remember reading that Pink Floyd was named by combining two bluesman's names and apparently that is how they got their name.

Still reminds me of Pink Floyd nonetheless.

[malikyte]

Datura -- Oh no, the format here is a great one. I think that if the challenges themselves were more along the "picture a day" or simply much more specific (such as "bridges at dusk"), that I would be completely unable to participate on a weekly basis since I have only the pictures I've taken since the challenges have begun. I do need to go out more, I just prefer to vary the scenery and not shoot all close-ups or all landscapes (and I dislike portraits, plus, I have few friends willing so...) so that I can get a feel for different perspectives and settings that do well under differing circumstances.

I already did the "light reflecting and shining through the plant" thing, and the silhouettes have already been done. I like to do things differently, and although I still should try to achieve a silhouette, I'd also like to have something unique to contribute back to the topic, so I have a place in mind, but I need to drive "to location" today after work and inbetween my errands. I almost wish that the challenge didn't change on Friday, but perhaps on a Tuesday or Wednesday giving more time to think through, and/or do a pass-through as brandaggio was discussing. Oh well.

I've been wanting to do some reflection photography, but I haven't noticed any photogenic reflections on my daily routine. I'm still looking! ...I've also wanted to do some timed night photography but I'm too lazy to take the late night drive (and pay for the gas).

It's too bad I have all this silly "programming" work to take up the majority of my free time. Ugh! Who needs it?! I have a fine arts graduate friend coming to live back up here, so hopefully I'll be able to tag along with her to some really nice spots on the weekends (and have a reason other than a Sitepoint challenge to go out -- socialize).

[brandaggio]

@malikyte - I know your neck of the woods pretty well.

The black flies do suck - I hear you there - they are vicious. Are they bad already?

In your general area I seem to recall the Stockade (for the river and the old Victorian brick and stone homes), Downtown Saratoga Springs for the architecture too, the Adirondack Northway/Thaddeus Kosciuszko Bridge (access to take a photo is another story), the Spa State Park and The Plotter Kill (more info on the trail) as pretty inspirational - though I am not suggesting them for any one particular reason - those will make themselves known through discovery.

I am sure you will come up with some more great shots and subjects - I liked your plant/leaf shot .

[Datura]

@malikyte -- It is not easy to go out and do all this, but nothing comes to you without effort. If you have that desire to really do it, then you will fight for it…

So it is. And do not expect too many great things in the beginning, I do not do that either, but I get excited never the less, and that will lead in the end -- after some time -- to good stuff.

All pictures you will take now are just stepping stones towards the good ones. You are doing great, you have a good start. Let some flies bite you, so what. Sweat & tears, so what. Leave the comfort zone, think about the goal, not the moment.

To myself: Ulrike, step off that soap box

[Shaun(OfTheDead)]

[HAWK]

Cool, SOTD. I like it.

[Shaun(OfTheDead)]

Why thank you, HAWK.

I was a little dis-appointed with it. It looks cool and all, but it's not what I was seeing in my head.

[Shaun(OfTheDead)]

[Datura]

^ very nice Shaun, is that in a fireplace? Looks like there is a huge wick with fuel? Tell, do tell

[brandaggio]

^I am betting it's some rum or booze of some kind and a twisted paper towel/towel for the wick. But then again, that would be so wasteful .

Reminds me of bonfires by the water. I dig that mellow glow.

[Bleys]

Molotov cocktail?

[Nadia P]

Molotov cocktail?

my thoughts too :-)

Nadia

[Shaun(OfTheDead)]

Molotov cocktail?

Close.

In Trinidad this is called a flambeau... I'm not too sure if it's found in the other Caribbean islands as well.

Anyways... basically it's a glass bottle (any old alcohol / rum bottle) filled with "pitch oil" (kerosene) with a strip of cloth (cotton, old clothes, whatever) rolled up tightly and screwed into the bottle as a wick.

This used to be lighting way back in the old days before electricty was readily available to all.

These days their only use is as a symbol of tradition or of poverty. They are used by fire-eaters at Carnival time, by the blue-devils, or sometimes to light traditional stick-fighting arenas just for the hell of it.

[Shaun(OfTheDead)]

And of course, Bleys, if you filled this up with gasoline instead of kerosene you'd have a molotov.

Incidentally if you tossed in a bunch of "channa" (chick peas) you'd have a surprisingly effective arson weapon, which in the Caribbean is fondly referred to as a "channa bomb"... haha!!

[Datura]

Wow, Shaun, thanks for the explanation.

[malikyte]

@brandaggio: Thanks for the suggestions! I didn't know about The Stockade or The Plotterkill. I had actually intended on taking some photography at the Spa State Park as I'm living only a mile from its entrance, and it is a great place for photos. I'll be joining a running group that goes through there all the time next week too, so I should be able to scope out better spots while running. Some of the best views I've seen have been while driving north on the Adirondack Northway towards Vermont. Unfortunately, I've known personal friends who have pulled off the side of the road to take pictures and have been ticketed by police for "parking on a highway"...can't say the cop was wrong. :P Unfortunately, that pretty much removes decent pictures (I love the bridge over the Hudson(?) looking towards West Mountain during sunset -- awesome!).

@Datura: Of course, you're much more eloquent at slapping me upside the head. I needed it, thanks. I actually went out yesterday to start snapping some shots but there was a concert in a local outdoor theater next to the park and I got stuck for much too long in stop-and-go traffic as boy-band "Fallout Boy" was playing right next door. During large events, the park's parking is used as an overflow parking lot, and all the roads were blocked off... Luckily, today's forecasted thunderstorms let some sun shine through long enough for me to take some more pictures...until my one and only camera battery died. LOL! ...and apparently my CF card reader doesn't like my particular card's physical shape (it just doesn't fit); hopefully I'll have some nice pictures to show tomorrow once my battery is charged (crap, overdue!).

...now if only I can figure out how to do a timed exposure on this camera. I missed two amazing thunderstorms today already.

@SOTD: Absolutely lovely show of red and orange hues. I love the contrasts. I think I like the first over the second, even if it wasn't what you were aiming for.

[Datura]

@ malikyte -- You are very welcome. I had hoped that you would take it this way. Sometimes a person needs just a little push, that is all

[malikyte]

Camera: Canon Rebel XTi
Lens(es): Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6(?) IS USM Lens
Post Processing: Other than rotating or constrained resizing, all photos listed are direct from the camera. There was no cropping or zooming.

I should be visiting a rose garden sometime soon. Those should be some nice pictures (I hope). There's definitely some interesting (Victorian era stone) architecture around me. Anyhow, here's some of the pictures I had taken the other day. I realized that the effect I was imagining in my head can only be achieved artificially (or in the most perfect conditions which may occur a few times a year for less than an hour). Oh well. I managed to grab a couple interesting things.


First off, as I was getting out of my car in the parking lot, I was blinded momentarily. The sun had reflected the light off the surface of my car's rounded hood, and looked quite bright, and due to the curvature, stretched quite a ways. I wondered what it would look like close up.




Next up is the first long inner hallway of one of the stone buildings in the Saratoga Spa State Park (that brandaggio mentions above). I didn't look to see exactly what the building originally was for, but it was built in 1934, a magnificent design mimicking older architectures while integrating the taste of the time it was built. The sun was just beginning to peer through the clouds a bit more after a thunderstorm that had passed through the area less than an hour prior, showing a bit of an orange haze (difficult to see). What you can see is the differing contrast between light and dark.

I have another image of this in my gallery that removes the contrast and gives a better perspective of the beauty of the hallway, but I liked the contrast here too much.



Perhaps I had a bit too much fun with the play on light as I purposefully captured this archway with a sunburst. It was interesting to note that I was unable to achieve a shot with perfect symmetry even though I was standing dead-center to the arch. I think I simply expect too much. :P




I've been enjoying my new found discovery of my camera lens' macro capability, a bit too much. However, I couldn't resist the reflection of the sunlight off the beads of rain still lying on the fresh green leaf.




Time for a slight overexposure! I was playing around with my camera's Manual shot mode and changing the ISO setting to allow the most light in (yet still get a decent image) to get this effect. This particular shot was simply a test in learning what happens when one manipulates the ISO in different lighting conditions. Although it is a bit too stale of color, I didn't want to do any post-processing to (easily) fix it. I *think* I set the ISO to 200 for this shot. I did not look at any other (factory default) settings.




The best for last, and my favorite. In the decorative pool in front of the building above, I began looking around to see if I could use the water's reflection of the sunlight to my advantage. After a short while of looking (and snapping some pictures of tadpoles swimming around), I noticed some water skimming beetles. They frolicked and danced along the water's surface, and I loved the random ripple effect they caused on the otherwise still water, and the dance of light in effect. My camera's auto-exposure was warmly welcomed when it garnered the photo below:


If anyone wants to see more of the water skimmers, I took way too many pictures of them - so much so that my battery died before I could take a wonderful picture of two sunbeams and a cloud with a golden-silver lining.

[Datura]

malikyte -- I enjoyed the journey you gave us with those pictures. So very nice. The inner hallway makes me feel like I am standing right in it. I like those kinds of places. Symmetry gives peace.

The skimmer pictures are wonderful with their rippling patterns. Thank you for the trip.

[Shaun(OfTheDead)]

Now that is cool. THAT is cool.

[Shaun(OfTheDead)]

@SOTD: Absolutely lovely show of red and orange hues. I love the contrasts. I think I like the first over the second, even if it wasn't what you were aiming for.

I don't know. I think I would have liked it better if the visible part of the glass bottle was still transparent. By the time I took those, the flambeau was lit for about an hour and there was a thin layer of soot over the neck of the bottle.

This was for a local photography contest, by the way, that's why I want viewers to know what they're seeing in the photo... rather than just... "A cool flame".

[Raffles]

I love this photo because of the light/dark/shadows



Nadia

Hey, I've been there! I absolutely loved Tasmania and Cradle Mountain was one of my favourite spots. Took a fair few at dusk there, which was pretty hard because of the lack of light and absolutely nothing flat to put the camera on. This was one of the better ones:

Speaking of which - Raffles - what is the subject of your fourth shot? I would like to guess but I really am not sure.

Your first reminds me of how I sometimes feel in Manhattan, with everything zooming by - great effect. The fifth one reminds me of "Pink Floyd" (the power station/band's namesake, especially if it was zoomed a bit).

I really like them - your work continues to impress me.

In that picture, I put the camera on a table, turned off all the lights and shut the curtains, and then whirled one of these around as fast as possible:



And thanks for the praise!

[Nadia P]

Hey, I've been there! I absolutely loved Tasmania and Cradle Mountain was one of my favourite spots.

Your pic of Cradle Mountain was great too :-)

Yes it was a lovely spot... I had a bad leg when we went, but I did manage to do the walk all the way round - took us a bit longer, but I felt I accomplished my goal by getting there - even if I could hardly walk the next day :-)

My photos in the tree thread, were also taken in Tasmania.

Nadia

[akritic]

Hey, I know I'm a bit late in the day with this contribution but here's my pic.

It was taken at sundown on the west coast of Barbados cira2004