Week 5 - Fog - Bradford

 Growing up in San Francisco, fog was a daily occurrence. I gained a deeper appreciation for the coolness of fog, the protection it provides from intense sun and heat, until I moved to SoCal.

From the perspective of lighting, I think that daytime fog is especially cool. Daytime fog can be bright, but from where the light comes is indeterminate. In daytime fog, light feels simultaneously omnipresent and nonexistent. As much can be said for the presence - or lack thereof - of shadows; they are at once everywhere and nowhere.

Some folks think that fog is depressing and hides that which we can see, which is sometimes true. However, I also think that fog can soften and round that which we experience, which can be a source of comfort or relief for those of us who experience social anxiety or mental overstimulation.

Week 5-xMPL-TA

 I am not sure if this is allowed. But inspiration... I am baffled with color and costuming. Even skin color affect. How to tell a story. The setting. The clothing. The "mood". What is it that makes us humans so fascinated with such a visual? Is it the trigger of senses? Memories? What is it that makes light translate into neurons that run throu the nervous system. 

None the less, I hope I do not get in trouble for posting these pictures. However, the first picture is a phase of skin and costume manifestation. I asked myself what are the phases in which each performer stand in. Somehow I created my own story. 

The second picture was mostly how white is such a confusing "non-color" it did not blend nor saturate so what is white? Why did peace makers choose white? Why is white a color of purity? What does white represent? Especially when Sufi Dancers wear white. In white there is an innocent complexity that stands out. 

Week 5 - JB - Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Week 5 - Somewhere Over the Rainbow

This week, amidst another rare bout of rain, I was lucky to witness this little moment. The air was crisp and clear after the drizzle had subsided, and the though the sky was blue, it gave a sense of warmth after the dull gloom of storm. The clouds began to dissipate and revealed the arc of the rainbow. I didn't even notice the second rainbow until after I had taken the picture. I started thinking again about refraction and how the rainbow is just a separation of the sun's natural white. The colors were very soothing, and created a lovely, calm atmosphere, leading me to feel at peace.

-Jeevika

 

week 5 - segmenting scenes - ws

 I love how shadows can create and enliven shapes and forms. There are so many moments in the day, especially on UCI campus, that I see fun animated shapes, segmentation of light, that are often in discrete places. The brutalistic architecture offers sharp angles and and angular pockets of light. It is especially fun to observe the dialogue between the light, nature, and building structures; I feel different narratives are expressed throughout different times in the day as the quality and tone of the light shifts. 

Week 5- Good morning friends- LA

 

It's the hour before the sun is up when no creatures stir, two friends wait idly in the single source of light. They wait for the girl to animate their world, but for now, they are basking in the glow of shadowy shapes: soft orange and yellow. Thank goodness for coffee.

Week 5 - FH - Headlights at Sunset

     I was originally inspired by the way the light hues left over from the sunset silhouetted the trees and bushed; paired with glow off the stop sign from my headlights. Naturally I was driving and my quick press of a button from my shaky hand brought us hazy lines and a doubled street lamp reflection. The street lamp almost reminds me of what I did for Kelly's solo, but in a natural setting. This view also brings feelings of wander and perhaps new beginnings. 

Anna Medina-Week 5

    

I decided to continue the texture theme for this week. This picture illustrates what I understand as creating texture with the light. It's crazy that if we were looking only at the floor we would still know that there is a tree. Stepping away from the texture topic, I like that this light contrIbutes to the setting. I picture a fall afternoon, a somewhat windy day that can turn into maybe a dark night, something more scary or halloween themed. For example, if you want to set up a dark NYC alley you don't need to put a street light in, you could just project its shadow. 

 

Week 4 - texture - TA

 Clouds. It has been a while since I have seen a consistent grey and cloudy weather. The texture of them, the color, the fact that its grey yet it is not a real color. Clouds prevent sun rays. The texture of the clouds intrigue my attention and controls my mood. 

Week 4 - Bradford - Texture

 Life through rose-colored glasses,
sometimes amber.

Two-dimensional or three?

Three dimensions where

depth emerges,

perceived

or experienced?

Experienced

or felt?

Three-dimensional or four?

Texture adds texture
gives holism to rose

or amber.

Texture also disrupts.

It' was never just

the rose

or the amber.

 

WEEK 4 - Rubí Danielle - TEXTURE - The Substance of Halloween

I absolutely love Halloween and all of the artistic inspiration that comes with it. In this photo, I captured lighting that revealed texture as well as beautiful colors. The clouds were strong on this night, giving the sky weight and shape. There is more than just flat lighting over the night sky. There is also the three dimensional quality that the clouds are giving the sky. I want to reach out and touch the clouds and their surface. The lighting that you see over the front door of the house, also provides a three dimensional quality and texture as well. The neon pink accents over the purple lighting, look like scrapes and scratches across the door. Instead of it looking like a flat clean door, the neon pink accents add a rough surface quality. It reminds me of the way boulders and rocks look, it provides a similar feel and look. Halloween is a holiday with great depth, substance, and emotion, as many see it as a time to connect with the spiritual realm. This picture captures both the dark and bright side of the spooky season, and provides us with an image that we not only want to look at, but that we also want to reach out and touch. 

Week 4 - Amber Morales - Texture - Blush

This class has broadened my creativity and curiosity for natural lighting. I have always been in awe of bright and invigorating colors. However, I have come to appreciate the soft textures of the color wheel. I took this photo when I came home from school last week and I could not help but feel the soft texture of the early evening sky. As if the sky were blushing in contentment, as the final hours of the day were finally approaching. I could feel the relaxation in the pastels. As if I were floating into a world free from worry, full of zen and never ending satisfaction.

Week 4 Anna Medina- Texture

 

Light has several ways of highlighting texture. Are these the best pictures to illustrate my point? Probably not. Will you understand what I mean despite my weak explanation because you are very intelligent people? I hope so. Week 4 was a long one.

As I work on my thesis I stall by looking at my desk lamp. The crystal that protects and decorates the lightbulb has a design that offers texture, but it doesn't distort the light in any way. I add a layer of mesh to see if the reflection changes, but it doesn't, what changes is the intensity creating a sort of haze. This, in a way ads texture to the light. If I wanted a hazy feeling I might consider doing this, it reminds me of the options we have when adding different gels. 

I use a small earing to simulate a gobo. I think this is the most obvious way to add texture to light, but surprise! it also shows the dust resting on my lamp which is a real example of unwanted texture. But it helps, put light on a textured wall from the side and the texture becomes more obvious. The possibilities, as I've stated in my other blogs are endless. Thank you for joining me in this journey of texture and lighting. 

Week 4- Floofy Texture

 

This is a picture of my dog Arlo and his fluffy cowlick. At first, I considered not using this picture because it did not showcase enough light - but the assignment for this week was "texture" and this picture has lots of texture. I think, when it comes to working creatively it is sometimes useful to find inspiration in an area outside of the medium we are creating in. For example, in stage lighting you could use gobos and other effects to create the illusion of the texture of something else.  The light gives the impression of a texture even though it has no real bumps or grooves. When I look at this picture I think, "How could I recreate this texture with light?" What does this texture mean to me? I know that it is soft, but in the image it appears spiky and pointed, and there are many layers of fur and curving lines. What would a light design with this type of texture look like? 

Week 4 - Joey Navarrete-M. - The Beehive (Texture)

I find the objects in this photo aesthetically pleasing and texturally rich. The way the sun reflects one office building onto the other with its golden color is like an optical illusion. 

Often, I find office buildings intrusive and not very interesting to look at. Given its context, a structure is similar to a beehive. Its workers come in and out to do their sole job prescribed by the queen bee to keep its colony alive. Still, when I saw this glimmering gold color, it stopped me, and I appreciated its beauty. Instead of the intruding building, the beehive building becomes an art installation in the middle of the city.

week 4 - whitney - light revealing texture

 

Light dictates most, if not all, of our visual perception. The temporal texture of clouds are revealed with different hues of light. Everything is continually changing before us, as the tones sing back to us. Light informs forms. We see can see the gloss of water, the wispy fluff of water (clouds), the suspension of water, and the vast rippling landscape of a body of water. 

Light may be able to do the same for our bodily form, including the changing textures of movement?

Week 4-LA-Spider-Texture

A slippery plastic spider dramatically spots mesh netting; the muted and cozy fibers do reflect. Likewise, a mystical purple bulb illuminates slippery organic leaves with more appealing textures and nifty nuances than the perfect plastic can provide, no matter how brightly it shines or cute it is.

Week 4 - JB - [Texture] - Lampshade

  Week 4 - Lampshade

There are two categories of textures that I saw represented in this photograph - the various textures of the objects (lampshade, wall), and the various textures of light that shone through. The soft gradient of light in the upper parabola highlights the knockdown texture of the wall. The lampshade itself is ever so slightly corrugated, and the light creates vertical shadows along the lateral surface. I also noticed the orangeish splatter of light at the bottom of shade, which felt smoother than the rest of the light above.

-Jeevika

Week 4 - Texture - FH

 Initially I was drawn to the shadows created by the sun and trees in the early morning. But as I got closer I was intrigued by the wrinkles in the fabric. The light pouring through cover reveals both the original weaving pattern and the creases formed over time. 

Week 3 - Bradford - Darkness, Light

 

Wallowing in Darkness needs not the Light,

and Light refuses the tarnish of Darkness.

But to thrive,

bear witness to form,

 radiate from within,

the brilliance of life in color,

Darkness and Light play.

How magnificent to find our most radiant form

not by the light of others,

but seemingly by the light from within.

Week 3 - Amber Morales - Love, your secret admirer

 

Ahhhhh Halloween! 

I absolutely love when you come around this time of year. The smell of your autumn breeze, the fog in your ghostly sky, the sound of your dry leaves crinkling with each step, and your orange rays of sunlight that shine brightly in the late hours of the morning. Nothing brings my heart to tranquil like you, Halloween. You are warm and cozy to the heart. You are peaceful and soothing to the soul.  You are stunning and bewitching to the eye. However, you are Frightening and Terrorizing. Manipulative and Controlling. Possessive and Sinister. Oh, but how I keep coming back for more. How I keep clinging on to your scheming tricks and treats. Halloween, you are more than just a holiday or a feeling. You are life. A life I cannot live without. 

Love, your secret admirer 

 

WEEK 3- Rubí Danielle- Green Lantern

My favorite color is red, however I am incredibly attracted to vibrant green colors as well, and I recently have been deeply interested in pairing green and red together. I took this photo while I was on a walk, and I was immediately captivated by the massive green glow that was flooding the front of this house. What is interesting, is that the actual light bulb you see on the left of the photo, is not green. As you can see though, the front of the house is surrounded by green grass, plants, trees, and bushes. So it seems as if the light bulb was reflecting the green from the plants. This was a really amazing sight to see. I have always been intrigued by rich and saturated colors, so I was deeply satisfied when I witnessed this lighting effect in person. There is also a hint of orange light that is coming from the front door and window of the house, which goes along with my interest in pairing the colors red and green together. Orange is not red, however it is a close sister of red, so it pleased me to see that there was a somewhat red accent in this green sea. 

Anna M Week 3 Columns

 

The interesting thing about this picture is that the columns are not in a diagonal, however, since the sunlight is hitting them from the right side the reflection becomes a series of diagonal lines. Last class while we were lighting each other's blogs I understood that shadows are an important element to consider, and entirely depend on the direction of the light. This offers plenty of design possibilities when working with moving bodies onstage. 

The continuity of the shadows to me is both calming and ads structure to the image. 

Week 3-Kelly -America Really Does Have Talent

 

This weekend I had the opportunity to see a friend of mine perform with Catapult Dance Company, a former finalist group on America's Got Talent, as a part of their 2021 National Tour.  The company's gimmick is that the entire performance is performed behind a screen, behind which a single light source is used to create an array of optical illusions through silhouette and shadow. During this performance I was blown away by the creativity and ingenuity of the designers and dancers. 

The audience sees the performance as one two-dimensional image, while in reality the dancers position themselves at different distance from the light source, so they appear large or smaller, and the silhouettes blend together to make a complete different image projected on the screen. I was able to watch the second half of the performance from backstage and it was truly amazing  to see how this is accomplished. If you look closely at the first two pictures in this blog, you can see the backstage set-up and the amount of spike tape, monitors, and detail go into making this happen. Although some props are used during the performance, the majority of the images are created through manipulation of the light source and reimagination of the form and shape of the human body. 

Talk about innovation and imagination when it comes to lighting!

week 3 - whitney - optical veracity

 

how light and visual perspectives reveal the essences of living forms

what is in focus?

how relevant are compositional techniques in portraying essences of living forms?

does a crisp focus always equate to clarity? 

how does light temperature and exposure effect our emotional connection (to ourselves and others)?

is abstraction closer to the "truth" of things? 

Week 3 - Joey NM - Traffic Light, his three Boxes, and four Palm Trees

I really appreciate the composition of this photo. The four palm trees and three electrical boxes are in the background fixed in space, waiting for their cue. Perhaps they're in silhouette? The traffic light is the real star of the show. He's in front and in a position to do something dramatic.

I took this photo mainly because the images struck me as beautiful. The blue paper meché mountains in the back exude orangey heat as they continue broiling impatience for the octet to begin dancing for them.

It's also a good reminder that this scenery, something so mundane, I'd often overlook. Like the fuming mountains, they wait for absolutely nothing to happen. In the photo's background, I'm fuming for the red traffic light to change in my rush to get to a place that is relatively more unimportant than this beautiful moment in front of me.

Week 3, Lisa Allin, Purple Lights

 

Crawling up my wall are purple lights and soft arching shadows that mimic the spooky branches. Gnarly shapes, swirling colors, and varying levels of intensity entice my inner artist and child. Mystery exudes, but it’s obviously Halloween!

Week 3_Power_TA

 I am not sure where to start. But an ecliptic sun, an exposed dancer, a silhouette,  a matching energy between the dancer, the sun and the mountains? There is no answer to beauty. 

This picture represents power, vulnerability and achievement. The sun is a powerful and affective light source, yet what happens when the sun hides? Shadows? Darkness? Love? 

What if the disappearance of light is when we feel good about showing who we truly are? 

What is light?

This picture is part of a filming that I conducted in spring quarter as part of a Dance Film piece. 

Week 3 - JB - Candlelit

Week 3 - Candlelit

Rain in Irvine is rare enough, but a storm large enough to cut power across campus is definitely cause for news.

I vaguely remembered an episode of a cartoon I watched on PBS when I was young, in which the main character's family experiences a power outage. At first, everyone is impatient and restless, but soon, they make the most of the situation and settle into cozy family time, playing board games, having a party and telling stories in candlelight. When the power does eventually come back, they lament, and turn the lights back off to continue their wholesome night.

At first, I was dejected because I couldn't make hot chocolate, but the two hours of darkness ended up being a lovely night, with ukulele music tinkling amidst the candlelight. Even though candles provide such little light, they bring such warmth and comfort to a space.

-Jeevika

Week 3 - Frankie Henderson - Neon Streaks

     This is not originally what I intended to get out of this picture but it happened to become a happy accident with a slip of my wrist. This picture served as a reminder that the way light moves, smears and passes through the air creates a similar composition to the way dance rushes through the space. Had the camera not made a jarring movement as I pressed the button, you would have only seen the view of hanging lights from the perspective of laying on the ground in a drowsy moment of rest. Instead we see neon lightening streaked colors creating mismatched patterns and figures. 

WEEK 2(Inspiration)- Rubí Danielle - Rainbow

WEEK 2(Inspiration)- Rubí Danielle - Rainbow

Taking this lighting class has inspired me to continue embracing all of the colors that exist in the rainbow. I absolutely love colors that pop, but I also love black as well. I generally gravitate towards black and I tend to pair it with bright neon colors as accents, in the same way these colors above, are paired with the dark black surrounding them. There are so many colors that exist, and I feel encouraged to continue exploring the essence and beauty of every color that is available to me. I want to dive into these colors and jump out with rainbow colored hair. What if everything we touched turned into the shade we were feeling in that moment, in the same way a mood ring changes colors when it feels a shift in our emotions? Colors are so much deeper than what we see. There is a story behind every color, and they each represent different ideas, characters, and emotions. I am inspired to continue exploring the deeper meaning behind colors. 

Week 2 - Amber Morales - Midnight Orange

 

The haunting darkness of the October night sky. Haunting yet inviting. Inviting yet avoiding. One can find themselves in a dilemma between the danger of the howling wind and the comfort of a warm street light. A choice between the sinister world or the foolish living. Most find the horrors of the night sky childish, or even unspeakable. While others wait patiently for their throne in the land of endless fright and terror. 

Week 2- Cheers to solar power -Anna Medina

 

This moment brings me extreme happiness and reminds me of the gifts of nature. The sun, the ocean, the combination of the two. The best things in life are free and we are all capable of feeling joy. Sunlight is something so simple yet so precious. It is important to remember that simplicity is sacred and natural light is a perfect example of this.