van der Heide's argument, that two extremes (light and dark, good and evil) must exist for each to maintain its relevance, has been discussed fervently throughout human history. Often, the concept of balance has been widely accepted by many, such as the need for work-life balance or a balanced diet. However, these perspectives are less accepted in other situations, such as in good and evil. Without the existence of evil, the meaning and accompanying perspective surrounding an act of goodness would simply be nonexistent. In photography, the same paradigm exists, with the usage of light and darkness, used in conjunct, aiding the transference of meaning from the artist to the observer. Bulaj, for example, used these two concepts to highlight (focus the light on) the people of Afghanistan while darkening their surroundings. In doing this, she did not remove the immensity of events surround these Afghans, but rather allowed the observer to infer these internal and national conflicts in a new form. Light and darkness can also be applied to concepts as simple as having the presence of bright white and dark black spots on an image. That lends the image vividness, allowing the observer to translate from what is clear (lit spots) to what can only be implied (dark spots).
The idea that light can only exist in conjunction with darkness is a rather logical one that I have never personally considered in such a way. It makes sense that you can't have one without the other, but that's not something most people think about. Light and dark are both at play in the photos we take. A really good image will have light contrast shown in the perfect whites and darks present in the photograph. Also something I liked in this video is the light therapy concept. Using light to help heal patients quicker in hospitals would be an amazing leap in the medical field. Also, my brother is a business and travels all over so I'm sure he'd appreciate a cure for jet lag on airplanes!!
Light only exists because of darkness an darkness only exists because of light. Neither can exist without the other for one needs the other in order to be its compliment (light and dark are really not opposites if you think about it). Light is dynamic and constantly changing, and in the change, it produces energy which drives the forces of the world. Light directs our thoughts and emotions by guiding our perspective and helping us to understand space. Consider the different perception you have of a room with windows in comparison to a room without windows, ambient luminescence creates an environment in which we feel more at ease in the space. It seems that because we cannot exist without the sun, our natural inclination is to desire light, preferably sun-like light, and to retreat from the darkness (which may explain why many people are apprehensive to utilize the darkrooms in film processing). In photography, lighting helps the viewer read the image and is a great part of the narrative of the photo. However, my question is, how can we appreciate the darkness in this class when the photo is dependent upon the light?
the entire process is light and dark, dark and light, each reversing itself over and over. all aspects of photography contain opposite mechanisms to move the image (perception) towards highlight or shadow (f-stop/shutter speed, always to be used in combination, reciprocal to each other). as I have said in lab, a print generally must have a clean black and a clean white, no matter how small, to make the print 'feel' right. everything you see contains both, in reality, not just in the print. the print just makes it obvious. everything is yin/yang, you cannot know joy until you know sorrow, you cannot know pleasure unless you know pain, love/hate, full/empty, freedom/control.......you cannot know darkness unless you know light.
"the entire process is light and dark, dark and light, each reversing itself over and over"
Miss Linda, you just describe Maxwell's Equations!!! I'm so excited!!!
For all of you that do not know, electromagnetic waves are oscillations of electric fields in one plane and magnetic fields in a perpendicular plane. The whole oscillations create a yin and yang, which causes the reversal (or repeating rather) process of light and dark, dark and light. Maxwell's Equations shows how changing (oscillating) magnetic/electric fields will induce the other!!!!
This video reminds me of a quote that I heard once (I don't know who said it) that basically says, "All the darkness in the universe can't snuff out the light of a single candle." This quote isn't really that related but the video reminded me of it.
I do think it's really cool though how much lighting can change how we see things and, as the presenter mentioned several times, really affect how we feel. This is seen a lot in theater and movies; lighting designers will use lots of bright, colorful lights to give a scene a happy feeling and will use harsher, more monochromatic lighting to give it a more ominous feeling (this is a very rough description but you get the idea).
I really like the idea of using different lighting techniques in hospitals to help patients recover more quickly (or doing something like this in airplanes or schools, etc.). This also made me think that I should set up some sort of complicated lighting system in my dorm so that the lights get more blue at night and more yellow in the morning (not really but it would be kinda cool).
It's pretty obvious how this relates to photography but I guess I'll talk about it too. Lighting can really "make or break" a photograph by changing how the photograph feels. Do you want to draw attention to a certain subject and make the photo very dramatic? Well, you could try making the subject bright while making the background dark. Thinking about things like this can help you, the photographer, make very interesting shots. Starting with the dark is a really cool way to think about doing this and all of the other lighting things as well.
The presenter's ideas about using light and darkness to compliment each other and enhance human experience in spaces brings to mind the use of organic design elements to adapt to an environment in a way that isn't destructive to that environment. Something similar to the artist Ken Isaacs, though perhaps not so drastically naturalist.
I found this concept that there can only be light if there is dark as well to be very interesting and really can be applied to anything. There always has to be some sort of extremes from which to draw comparisons in order to classify something. This can include good vs. bad, long vs. short, fat vs. skinny, colorful vs. dull, and the list goes on and on. Our ability as humans to differentiate is a gift and definitely requires both a certain lens and amount of light. This means that we must have some sort of experience to use a lens of comparison and light in the form of knowledge to guide such comparisons as well.
van der Heide's argument, that two extremes (light and dark, good and evil) must exist for each to maintain its relevance, has been discussed fervently throughout human history. Often, the concept of balance has been widely accepted by many, such as the need for work-life balance or a balanced diet. However, these perspectives are less accepted in other situations, such as in good and evil. Without the existence of evil, the meaning and accompanying perspective surrounding an act of goodness would simply be nonexistent. In photography, the same paradigm exists, with the usage of light and darkness, used in conjunct, aiding the transference of meaning from the artist to the observer. Bulaj, for example, used these two concepts to highlight (focus the light on) the people of Afghanistan while darkening their surroundings. In doing this, she did not remove the immensity of events surround these Afghans, but rather allowed the observer to infer these internal and national conflicts in a new form. Light and darkness can also be applied to concepts as simple as having the presence of bright white and dark black spots on an image. That lends the image vividness, allowing the observer to translate from what is clear (lit spots) to what can only be implied (dark spots).
ReplyDeleteThe idea that light can only exist in conjunction with darkness is a rather logical one that I have never personally considered in such a way. It makes sense that you can't have one without the other, but that's not something most people think about. Light and dark are both at play in the photos we take. A really good image will have light contrast shown in the perfect whites and darks present in the photograph.
ReplyDeleteAlso something I liked in this video is the light therapy concept. Using light to help heal patients quicker in hospitals would be an amazing leap in the medical field. Also, my brother is a business and travels all over so I'm sure he'd appreciate a cure for jet lag on airplanes!!
Light only exists because of darkness an darkness only exists because of light. Neither can exist without the other for one needs the other in order to be its compliment (light and dark are really not opposites if you think about it). Light is dynamic and constantly changing, and in the change, it produces energy which drives the forces of the world. Light directs our thoughts and emotions by guiding our perspective and helping us to understand space. Consider the different perception you have of a room with windows in comparison to a room without windows, ambient luminescence creates an environment in which we feel more at ease in the space. It seems that because we cannot exist without the sun, our natural inclination is to desire light, preferably sun-like light, and to retreat from the darkness (which may explain why many people are apprehensive to utilize the darkrooms in film processing). In photography, lighting helps the viewer read the image and is a great part of the narrative of the photo. However, my question is, how can we appreciate the darkness in this class when the photo is dependent upon the light?
ReplyDeletethe entire process is light and dark, dark and light, each reversing itself over and over. all aspects of photography contain opposite mechanisms to move the image (perception) towards highlight or shadow (f-stop/shutter speed, always to be used in combination, reciprocal to each other). as I have said in lab, a print generally must have a clean black and a clean white, no matter how small, to make the print 'feel' right.
Deleteeverything you see contains both, in reality, not just in the print. the print just makes it obvious. everything is yin/yang, you cannot know joy until you know sorrow, you cannot know pleasure unless you know pain, love/hate, full/empty, freedom/control.......you cannot know darkness unless you know light.
"the entire process is light and dark, dark and light, each reversing itself over and over"
DeleteMiss Linda, you just describe Maxwell's Equations!!! I'm so excited!!!
For all of you that do not know, electromagnetic waves are oscillations of electric fields in one plane and magnetic fields in a perpendicular plane. The whole oscillations create a yin and yang, which causes the reversal (or repeating rather) process of light and dark, dark and light. Maxwell's Equations shows how changing (oscillating) magnetic/electric fields will induce the other!!!!
everything is connected.
ReplyDeleteI could go on........
This video reminds me of a quote that I heard once (I don't know who said it) that basically says, "All the darkness in the universe can't snuff out the light of a single candle." This quote isn't really that related but the video reminded me of it.
ReplyDeleteI do think it's really cool though how much lighting can change how we see things and, as the presenter mentioned several times, really affect how we feel. This is seen a lot in theater and movies; lighting designers will use lots of bright, colorful lights to give a scene a happy feeling and will use harsher, more monochromatic lighting to give it a more ominous feeling (this is a very rough description but you get the idea).
I really like the idea of using different lighting techniques in hospitals to help patients recover more quickly (or doing something like this in airplanes or schools, etc.). This also made me think that I should set up some sort of complicated lighting system in my dorm so that the lights get more blue at night and more yellow in the morning (not really but it would be kinda cool).
It's pretty obvious how this relates to photography but I guess I'll talk about it too. Lighting can really "make or break" a photograph by changing how the photograph feels. Do you want to draw attention to a certain subject and make the photo very dramatic? Well, you could try making the subject bright while making the background dark. Thinking about things like this can help you, the photographer, make very interesting shots. Starting with the dark is a really cool way to think about doing this and all of the other lighting things as well.
The presenter's ideas about using light and darkness to compliment each other and enhance human experience in spaces brings to mind the use of organic design elements to adapt to an environment in a way that isn't destructive to that environment. Something similar to the artist Ken Isaacs, though perhaps not so drastically naturalist.
ReplyDeleteI found this concept that there can only be light if there is dark as well to be very interesting and really can be applied to anything. There always has to be some sort of extremes from which to draw comparisons in order to classify something. This can include good vs. bad, long vs. short, fat vs. skinny, colorful vs. dull, and the list goes on and on. Our ability as humans to differentiate is a gift and definitely requires both a certain lens and amount of light. This means that we must have some sort of experience to use a lens of comparison and light in the form of knowledge to guide such comparisons as well.
ReplyDelete