Light

When look back over the photographs I took for the light assignment, I realized that what all the photographs had in common was Szarkowski’s “frame” concept. When searching for what objects to take a photograph of, I was selecting them, not conceiving them as Szarkowski describes. The photographs show the viewer what I intended them to see and nothing more. The frame of the photographs blocks out the surrounding areas, which are common, everyday settings, but the photographs themselves show something more isolated. The photograph of the light reflecting off the water and the cement looks appealing, but it is simply a puddle in a parking lot that would go unnoticed by many. The same applies to all the other chosen photographs. You cannot see the surroundings but only the way an everyday object is seen emphasized by light though my camera. I decided to go with a mid-day sun and a nighttime setting for the photographs to capture the differences of lighting during opposite parts of the day. The sun plays an important roll in the daytime photographs but at night, the moon or other unnatural light is the dominant light source. And to take a different direction of only exterior shots, I choose the light on the wall, which had an interesting look. I walk past this light everyday and never really noticed what it looked like before taking that photograph. Another concept Szarrkowski discussed was of “time.” I noticed this is the photograph of the flag. The flag is captured as being still. In reality, it was whipping around furiously. The photograph captures the flag but pauses time, taking away the effect of motion, which was not an issue with the other photographs. .