Week 6: Citrusy Composition

Ooops! Totally forgot to submit a picture post for this week - was too occupied hanging out with family and friends! Anyway, here's a picture I took from this weekend while I was hanging out with friends in San Diego. This was taken at a pizza shop near Balboa Park in San Diego, and as I was making my way to my seat after ordering I pulled my phone out and begged my friend to strike a pose - the lighting & color was too inspiring not to snap a quick photo. I love everything about this photo! The orange and lime-green colors provide such a flirty yet energetic vibe. How her shirt matches completely with the wooden backing of the seat. Her slight smile and smirk for the camera. And of course, how the lighting provides such a stark contrast of reveal&conceal - it's almost like you're looking at two different people when you cover one part of her face. The lighting makes her seem almost ... unhuman - kinda like an alien. Someone who relishes in being seen. Someone who almost demands to be seen. This picture really makes me appreciate how lucky I am to have the awesome friends in my life and how unique and captivating they can be to me.

week 6 sunset on the way

This photo I took randomly on the way to Santa Monica, it was time for sun set and  the sky looks so beautiful in gradation. I was really tired after visited my uncle driving 1 hour, and the view made me feel so relax. The road looks wild with few cars, it didn't have the annoying traffic jam as usual. I love this photo, it gives me the different feeling about LA, and I really enjoy the moment at that time.

Week 6: Driving By

While on drive on the freeway with a friend last weekend, I stumbled upon this sky. It was definitely beautiful being the drive home after a long day. This image really shows the beauty of nature and the sky. Everytime I see something like this, I tend to stop thinking about everything and just enjoy the moment. The warmness of the sun makes me feel like I am wrapped in my blanket at home, warm and comfty. The vast sky with the white and blues making it just seem so endless. Overall, the drive home was relaxing and I did not want it to end.

Week 6: Light Reveals

While this photo doesn't make me feel strong emotion, the motorcycle did make me stop and take a picture of it. What made me stop was the windshield's rainbow-y chrome tint.  The reason why I submitted this photo for this assignment is it made me think about how powerful and versatile light is when mixed with other mediums. How light hits this windshield and suddenly it goes from blue to rainbow. Light hits a black car and suddenly hits of silver explode from within the paint. On a rainy day sunlight flings rainbows across the stormy skies. This motorcycle made me make a deeper connection from what we discussed in class: light reveals. Light can reveal the extraordinary within the seemingly mundane. Light made me pause on my walk home to take a picture of a motorcycle.

Week 6: Geometric Cuts

Many people complain about having to take an 8 A.M. class and having to wake up at "un-Godly" hours to make it to class on time. Prior to this quarter I would have said the exact same but once I started noticing how beautiful the soft, morning light is, I fell in love with it. My house has two upstairs rooms that face towards the East so in the mornings the sun hits directly on the half-open shutters and projects beautiful geometric cuts on the wall near our staircase. One particular morning of this week, I noticed the positioning of each of the blinds and of the doors opening towards the room and saw how the shuttering of the light effectively created a series of geometrically cut lights on the wall. Despite it being a hectic morning, I stopped for a second to observe how exactly the light had been produced. Because it was early morning, the quality of the light was more diffused through the process of hitting the early morning fog and it gave the light a very soft glow. Towards the center of the light, so many of the different cuts were hitting the same spot together that it created a vibrant, bright intensity. While I felt that I had nothing to do with creating such a light, I marveled at the pleasant accident and found it made me fall further in love with waking up early to have a chance in catching more of these "lighting accidents".

Week #6

As I was driving I saw the sun reflected in my rear view mirror. At first I didn’t think anything of it, but as I kept looking back I noticed how striking and piercing the color and light was. I feel like there is something about when the sun is setting that makes it warm but also super bright. This picture doesn’t fully capture that aspect, but I think it accurately displays the coloring of the sun at sunset. The warm orange and yellow combining together to create a golden coloring on whatever it touches. I think that this light makes me feel almost cozy because of the warmth. Lastly, whenever I see this type of color I always think of how beautiful pictures look at this time. Everything has the golden touch and no matter what people being photographed have an angelic look to them.

Week #6: To Infinity and Beyond

About a month ago, my boyfriend and I went to LA to go visit The Broad Museum. The room was an experience I will never forget because of the way it made me feel. Even though I was in a small room in a museum, I felt like I was transported to another world. The lights would flicker on and off throughout the experience.  There were moments I could see the limitations of the room such as the lighting hanging from the ceiling and the multiple mirrors used to highlight the experience. There were times the lights would completely dim so there were only minimal sources of light. In there moments, I felt like the smallest in the universe. Even though it was only 30 seconds, it felt like we were in the room forever. I wanted to continue to explore the space. It was especially important because I was with the person I cared about. Whenever I look at the picture, I am reminded of the fragility and preciousness of life.

Week 6: Perspective

This photo was taken on Mt. Tamalpais in Marin County, California. It overlooks the Pacific Ocean as the sun is setting; I caught the reflection of the light off the water. The refection at first glance looks like a beam is shining straight down onto the water and not shooting itself off the water. It makes me think of all the previous generations of people that saw this same light and saw a holiness to it and yet I see the wonder of light waves. Light, like life, is all about perspective.

Week 6: A Much Needed Break

 

Last week my partner and I took 36 hours off and, among other places, visited Joshua Tree National Park. I hadn’t been in a desert in a long time. I was immediately blown away by the beautiful landscapes and arid ground. One of my favorite activities that weekend was hiking up Mount Ryan. This photo was taken on the way down. Look at that sunset! Isn’t it just breathtaking? At least it was for me. I couldn't stop staring at the different colors in the sky and probably shouldn’t have looked directly at the sun for as long as I did but I found it hard to help myself. It was as if the sun was burning itself out. I thought about our lighting class and finally saw how cool the color of sunlight really is. I know we discussed it and I believed it but didn’t really see it. When I look at this picture, I see it. Especially when I compare it to the yellow edges of the sunlight and the orange brushstrokes in the sky. The more I look at the picture, the more I try to count every color in it. Even though the sun is a harsh light here and an imposing presence, it sends such soft strokes of light to the rest of the sky and there is something calming about it. When I took this picture I also had an instant flashback slide show of other wonderful hikes in different parts of the world. I remembered hiking with a recently sprained ankle because I just had to check out a particular glacier in Iceland, hiking in a cloud forest in Costa Rica because I had heard there was a hidden waterfall, I remembered my knees hurting on a very steep and lengthy downhill hike in Bali, I remembered the rainy hikes up mountains in the Lake District in England, hiking for hours to get to a castle in impossible heat in Latvia, deciding it made more sense to hike for about ten hours in Panama to get from one town to the next than take three different buses... Suddenly I was filled with joy and a very big urge to travel. 

Week 6 - office lights

It is Tech Week for Dance Visions! And the lights surrounding the mirrors in the stage management office feel harsh. The lights are at a lower Kalvin temperature which should make the room more warm but they still feel annoying. The abundance of light in such a concentrated space is overwhelming. Especially with the lack of sleep and working for almost 10 hours. The glaze is constantly getting in my eyes keeping me awake and seeming so drastically dull compared  to the theatrical lighting i have been surrounded by for the last four days. Making this "world" almost unbearable.

Week 6 - Lavender?

Every time I look up at the sky and see clouds now, I try to see if they look lavender to me. Like we talked about in class, I am very aware that grey light does not exist so clouds can't possibly be grey or have gray shadows, but I still cannot see the shades of lavender. Thinking about light (not specifically lighting a stage or set or architecture, just plain light) is becoming more and more prominent in my day to day life and I find myself observing and dissecting the light in various places throughout my day. This class has also started to get my wheels turning on how to recreate these naturally occurring light events and moods that light evokes, in a theatrical setting, especially for dance.

WEEK 6: A Power Statement

This is a picture of the corridor for the elevators at the Courtyard Marriot in Downtown San Francisco (I was here for URTA 2018). When I was about to head down to the lobby, the red quilted cushion got my attention. I also took the time to acknowledge this hotel's modern interior design and I was "digging" the black, gray, silver, and white colors with red accents here and there; they are my favorite hues and achromatic colors! I do not have a picture of my room, but it also followed the same design aesthetic. The small chandelier was not as harsh with lighting the corridor, but it also seemed a little dim in the surrounding. Seeing the red piece of furniture reminded me of embodying a power statement in one's living spaces. If there were an important element that needs to stick out on a set, I would utilize the color red in a space filled with achromatic colors. With the achromatic colors and the touch of red, I can see "power" in a sophisticated and classy space.

I also wanted to note how the portrait of the peacock was blue, and I found it quite fascinating how a cooler color was used along with the intense red bench and achromatic environment. It could have been seen as clashing, but I agree not.

Week 6- Interior Lights of Dining Hall

So this picture was taken at the Anteatery- Mesa Court Dining Hall.  I took this picture because I go into this dining hall multiple times a day and never really admired the structure of the lights or how bright the lights were.  This particular time I took this picture it had been a very long day and for some reason these lights were just super bright.  I felt words run through my head such as anxiety, stress, and frustration.  Sort of ironic that these lights were placed in a dining hall on a college campus, possibly in efforts to calm students from their classes.

Week 6: Light from the Past

This week, I took a trip to Knott's Berry Farm with three of my friends as we had recently all purchased season passes to give ourselves something to do when we were bored. Upon waiting in line for one of the last rides of the night, Ghostrider, my eyes were quickly drawn to the lights in the ride queue. Hanging above us was a lighting fixture in the style of an old lantern. At first I wondered how that single light provided so much light as there were just two of these used to light the entire area, but then I noticed the rest of the fixture. For atmospheric purposes, the light was styled as a vintage lantern with a red candlelight flame burning inside, but, as you can see from the photo, the light also had a conventional bulb shining through the bottom to provide a stronger interior light. I found it very interesting and ingenious that Knott's had these lights manufactured in a way that was both meaningful and highly functional. I then began to look around the park more at the choices made in the lighting sector and found that a great percentage of the theme park's lighting not only makes atmospheric contributions and makes you feel transported in time, but has added features of functionality hidden within. I can't wait to go back and spot more treasures within the lighting at Knott's Berry Farm.

Week 4 Tales of the Twitter

Last week there was this really cool event (if you're a nerd like me that is.) that was being hosted locally, so I decided to check it out. The series of events that lead up to this specific event, like all fun stories (and apparently now some of our foreign policy) began with some Twitter bickering. Two of the main voice actors for a a long running show that I grew up with called Dragon Ball Z, got into an argument about whose respective character was better. Naturally like two grown men in their 50's would do, they challenged each other to settle things in a video game of their own series that was luckily being released in a few weeks. So news of the promotional event spread, and it became a gigantic thing, that would be hosted here in Santa Ana and live streamed to hundreds of thousands of people. The event itself was densely packed with people, with the venue being lit with blues and some reds as well. I noticed that while those two colors were used to light a majority of the place, white light was only ever used if it was something that needed the focused pulled to it with the stage being the most obvious thing to focus in on. But some other things that were lit with white as well were things like exits, and restroom locations, which looking back on was an intentional decision to make these things easy to locate, something I wouldn't have noticed before. I definitely had a lot of fun seeing two great voice actors get involved with their fans by putting on a really fun amazing free event. There was also a themed bar, and a bunch of free things that were giving out, so definitely a plus there as well.

Week #4 Big River

This photo was taken on the highway running through Mendocino County as we drove over Big River. The contrast in dark browns and greens of the land with the bright whites and gloomy grays in the sky gave me the feeling of two worlds. The ground full of tangibility and life, but the sky had a feeling of forever-ness.

Week 4 - Gritty Night

So, as usual, I was up late not being able to sleep. I posted if anyone wanted to go on a late night photo shoot. Sonya responded and we went out on our journey. We stopped near the construction over in the Humanities department. Immediately, I was drawn to the overly cool lights that illuminated the scaffold covered ramp. The light gleamed bright in the dark of night. When posing Sonya, I noticed a beautiful backlight silhouette it was giving her. I loved the picture but had to add one little touch. I took out my LED panel and gently shined a red light on her. The mix of the stone cold backlight and the red fill light created not only a gritty look, but a look of mystery. The hard bluefish color with a soft red. When lighting, a lot of people immediately turn to red as it overpowers the image, but I wanted a viewer to be able to be drawn to both the kinds of lighting in this picture. Together, the contrast of blue(ish) vs. red, harsh vs. soft, created this beautiful image that can be interpreted in several ways, depending on the viewer.

Week 4: The Lights of Disney

Last weekend I had the pleasure of visiting Walt Disney World in Florida. It was one of the better trips I've taken as of late. So the first park we went to was Epcot (first picture) and it was beautiful. I had only been to Disney World once and we had only gone to one of the parks then, so the 2nd time around was extremely better. As soon as we were leaving the park, I absolutely had to get a picture of the giant, spherical symbol of Epcot. The way that they light it is brilliant. It looks like the light is coming from the inside of it, but I'm pretty sure they light it from the outside; I just have no idea how. (It might just be lit from the inside. idk.) I know that warmer light is supposed to draw our attention first, but when I look at this, my eyes go directly to the blue light on top. It almost looks like UV light, rather than just plain blue light. It's so bright and attention-grabbing. The other colors just seem to blend into each other for me.
The last two pictures are from one of the rides in I forget which park, but I just thought this was brilliant. These are light fixtures on the ceiling that mimic fireworks. Fricking genius! Seeing all of the different ways the imagineers light up the attractions in the parks and considering the time it took to make it all happen makes me appreciate the power of light more. You could literally do anything with light if you know how.

Week #4: Bright Lights in White Space

While settling in for the night, I began to turn off all the lights of the living room. Fortunately, I forgot to turn off the star lights sitting on the white shelf next to the tv. It caught my eye and immediately caused me to stop. I really began to notice the detail of the twine and the way the light shown through the shape of the jar. What also caught my attention was the transparency of the jar and the pattern the lights made. Even though there were only a couple lights, it was very intense. The pattern it made on the wall behind it also struck me. It was subtle but definitely gave off a certain feeling within the small space it was enclosed in.

Week #4 - Everyday rainbow

My mother owns here own business and is my absolute hero. She scarifies so much for her family and has built her career out of love and pure dedication. This weekend I was helping her around her office, which is an old historical house in my hometown. and as I was walking around I spotted these light pools on the floor coming in from this antique door. The pools were these round shapes that all seemed different but what they shared this rainbow coloring. I never noticed (or appreciated rather) that this door that could appear so mundane possessed the power to make something so beautiful.

The door was full of glass that acted like a prism. I became slightly obsessed with this light. It was a clear example of the visible color spectrum that we saw and discussed I class but more than that it was so comforting that this extraordinary display of light is the world my extraordinary mother lives in. 

Week #4 - Homesick

I took this photo last weekend on Sunday. I took the drive down to my hometown in San Diego, spent some time with my family and girlfriend, and had to drive right back. As I was unpacking my car, I came back outside and saw this lovely color in the sky. I loved the blending of three layers in the sky - we have the light blue at the top, the smoky navy in the middle, and the lovely pink at the bottom. And while that background  is nice and all, I also find it intriguing how there is the man-made lighting on the right side of the photo, with both the warm golds and the cool electric blues fighting for their space amongst the green foliage. I love this photo because it brings out feelings of quiet melancholy - I can almost remember how cool the air felt on my skin, and how life almost came to a stand still when I took that photo. One of my faves!

week #4 City Light at Night

 

I got this photo accidentally since I am still an intro photographer. This photo I took from the parking lot, it was such a good view when I look down from the top of the building. There are different lights from different directions and different materials, which made the city became energetic without sunshine. As we known that the red color got more attention from human perceive , which are also the most I could always see surroundings, such as the traffic light, break light, stop side, etc. However, more and more city lightings lead to the immensity of light pollution, which cause less and less clear strait sky. Therefore, people travel to somewhere wilderness in order to satisfy their desire for a clear sky.

Week #4 Candlelit Wedding

Last weekend my family and I attended a wedding in which the entire hall was lit primarily by real and imitation candles. I felt that the lighting successfully created a romantic and intimate environment that defined the mood for the event. The reflective qualities of the ornaments combined with the candle lights I thought emphasized a regal vibe to the venue. However, while I was enthused at first by seeing the attention to detail the wedding designer put into the placement of each candle and the overall beauty of it, I soon realized that the most important detail relating to the lighting design was overlooked: providing sufficient light for pictures of the guests, bride, and the groom. Looking back at the other pictures I took of my family members, the quality was grainy and it was difficult to focus on the faces. Later in the week my family heard news of how upset the bride and groom were at the wedding photographer for how dark they turned out. This made me realize an important lesson in that it is as important,if not more important, to prioritize the practicality and intensity of lighting over the designed look of it.

Week 4: Hike by the Hills

One of my favorite things to do is to hike. I feel it is a necessary form of therapy to escape into nature. I find that I am a much happier person when I make time to admire the outdoors with friends on a Sunday morning. Today I went to Franklin Canyon Park in Beverly Hills, for the first time. It was an unexpected preservation of nature in the middle of West LA. I saw ducks and turtles and even a frog. The day was warm and the sky was blue and I recall the birds chirping while we hiked. It felt like a perfect summer day.

Week 4: Light in the Sky

Corona del Mar State Beach - Photographed by Kyle Causey

     On Wednesday January 31st, my friends and I took a trip to Corona del Mar State Beach for many reasons. Many of my friends wanted to study for midterms on the beach, while others had homework to do. I, however, had already finished midterms and didn't have any urgent homework to do. I was thankful for this as it gave me time to take in the view of the beach and nature in general. One thing that most people who are close to me know is that I hate the beach. This is mainly because I don't like sand stuck all over me and I also am not a big fan of swimming, but on Wednesday I realized one of the reasons so many think the beach is so beautiful. That reason is light, the basis of our entire course. So many flock to the beach for a view of the ocean or to see the sunset while relaxing on the sand, but none of this would matter without light. After taking in the effect of light on the beach this Wednesday, I learned to appreciate the beach more. The way the light reflects off of the blue ocean water is truly beautiful, no matter how murky the water may be. The way the sun sets over the horizon is like nowhere else. It wasn't clear to me how easily light can change your perception of things in your surroundings and environment if you just take a moment, no matter how long or short, to honor and appreciate the way it lights up the world. I look forward to returning to a light-stricken beach.

Week 4: Fairy-like Plant

This weekend I was out with some friends and this particular "plant" with lights struck my attention. The place was a pretty dim lit room so this lit plant was really bright. In this photo it looks like a bunch of pinkish/magenta fairies flying around. The color is really nice and warm and the intensity of the center of each flower in the photo is really high which makes it almost look like pure white light. What I like about this photo the most is that it is pure white in the middle of each bud and as it goes out, we see the pedals are more pink and as we go further out around the little flowers, it is more of a darker purple. The color fades out nicely and really pleases my eyes. The color really matched the setting and it made me feel like I'm in a magical world around it. It did felt as if I was in an imaginary world or maybe a dreamlike feeling to this photo. Overall, this photo was a nice shot and fun to look at but staring too long may hurt your eyes as it did to mine.

Blog Post #2: Coffee Shop Light

This usage of light is from a coffee shop in Costa Mesa. It is a neon sign above a couch in a kind of alcove where people can bring their ordered coffee to sit and relax or do work. The light from the neon was interesting because the way it looked in person is different from how it appears on camera. In person, the detail of the lettering is much clearer while in the photo, I noticed that in my photo the light kind of blurs out as well there being a halo of red around the lettering. In person, the entire thing appeared red rather than a yellow/orange with only a red exterior. Lastly, it was interesting how far the red light spread out. The brightness of the neon reaches much further than if the lettering would have been a different type of light. It was cool how directly the light appeared on the couch and even the table as well. This was one of the first times that I really looked at neon light and saw how different and interesting it is from other types of light.

Week 4: Inhale, Exhale— Repeat.

Last week I took this around 4pm. I was so amazed at how striking the light was coming from behind the clouds. I absolutely love the contrast of how bright the sky was and how dark all the buildings were from the shadows. This light made me feel grateful and had that “new perspective” look to it. I love this kind of light during the day, it’s so inspiring and it’s a reminder for me to take a moment and remember to breathe. 

Week 4 - Colorful Sky

I took this picture from the patio of my apartment yesterday. I have dozens of pictures from this exact angle on my phone and they each look different. I love the view of this "almost" sunset from my apartment. Because even though the sun isn't really set yet, the trees and houses in the back hide it. I love how the trees only appear in silhouette and all you can see is the sky in different colors each day. Even if I've had a bad day, if I look out the window and the sky is colorful at this time I run out, take a picture and just stand there for a bit staring at it. It calms me down and puts me in a better mood. My favorite is when the clouds look sort of pink or orange. This day the colors in the sky were tamer, but it's still beautiful and relaxing to look at. It almost looks fake.

WEEK 4: Aligned Blinds

I took this picture while I was eating my lunch in my living room. It was a nice sunny Sunday outside, and the sun was shining through the living room blinds. I drew attention to the symmetrical and linear shape on the lower right. I also like how the blinds had varying levels of brightness and some that were not lit at all, along with a faint glow within the lines. Since my design aesthetic leans more towards minimalism, I would love to use this symmetrical image as inspiration one day!

Week 4: Memories of Home

As I was walking home after a class this week, I had to stop for a moment and look at the light that was hitting this building. I started feeling homesick but not in a sad way, if that makes sense, I was reminded of happy memories. There is something about the way the light was hitting this building that reminded me of Montreal in the fall. September, to be specific. The color of the light is vivid, yet soft. The yellows are still yellow but they’re leaning slightly towards orange. There is an angularity to the light in the fall that I don’t notice any other time of year and I think what strikes me the most about it is that tough it is angular, it is not harsh. 

It’s a time of year I really enjoy; the leaves start to turn many different colors — so much so that driving along a highway feels like being in an impressionistic painting — the weather is still warm but there is a nice briskness to the air so sweaters and small jackets start coming out (to me, that is the most comfortable weather); drinking hot cider becomes an afternoon ritual; families, friends, and school groups all go apple-picking at a farm outside the city — there are so many that you can pick the one you prefer, and the kind of apple you’d like to pick. Some go pumpkin and squash picking. If I think about it further, I might even say that because I moved to Canada in the fall, the time of year subconsciously conjures excitement and happiness for me. 

Week 4: Unsettling Street Lights

I took this picture a few nights after the lecture in which we discussed the different kind of streetlights. I was walking and noticed that the street lights near my house are the kind of amber that make the color of cars indistinguishable. This made me feel a little freaked out...but it was also cool to realize it. I also think the way the light falls on the side walk in the middle distance of this picture is nice.

Week Four- Packard Light?

So this is my main form of light when it comes to my little living room area I have.  I live in the dorms on campus so I understand that the is easy light to just produce while also on a cheap budget.  However I cannot help but feel a bit weird when looking at this light.  In honor of Mrs. Packard opening this weekend, this photo of this light reminds a bit of an asylum or hospital.  When I look at this light yes I am appreciative of the light given however it can at times feel harsh to look at.  However, when combined with the softness of the sunlight that peaks through my window the light is much softer and a warmer color.