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.