Post 5: Camino, you are NOT the light of the world. *rant blog*

I live in Camino, and let me tell you. I've been saving this post for last. I can not STAND the lighting in Camino. Ever since the beginning of the year, I've felt that this lighting is so bad that it actually puts my in a bad mood. I'm not sure what kind of lighting it is, because I've never cared enough to ask, but it's definitely not bright enough. Even with other lamps on in the room it just makes me feel so washed out and sad! It's a real drag when I have to do anything in detail at night, like, oh I don't know, do my makeup, or my homework, or you know, see things. Plus, whatever lamp they have over the light sucks! I'm pretty sure it's not an incandescent lightbulb because Camino likes to save money, so maybe it's an energy efficient fluorescent. It still sucks, though! I can't wait to move our in four days so I can see my face again!

A photo of said lighting catastrophe. 

Helen Pashigian

Just a few days ago I saw an article in the Los Angeles Times that caught my eye. “She Loves Light, needs space” is about Helen Pashgian, a Light and Space artist.  Her studio is in Pasadena, California and her first solo show is now at LACMA.  I remember seeing Pashgian’s work at the Pomona College and her work with light is truly unique.  She is very mysterious about the technicalities of her work, saying that people should simply enjoy her art.  I loved how in the article it states how at ‘just the mention of the word “light” and Pashigian’s face softens’.  Pashigian describes her affinity for the depth and the light, floating objects floating in space that is not defined.  She wants to capture the change of light, which, to her, is its most beautiful aspect.   

Open for business.

My friends always like to throw giant parties. I mean, what friends don't. We're in college. I do have some clever friends, though. Instead of using regular ugly Camino lighting, that makes us all look incredibly washed out and gross even though we spent 45 minutes glammin' ourselves up for this thing, they use really inventive laser lighting. One of my favorite things that they do is they use an "OPEN" sign. Instead of the traditional neon lighting, this open sign is LED, and you won't believe how much light this thing actually produces! This one open sign can light an entire living room full of college students! The combination of the bright red lighting and the cool purple lighting creates a romantic purple lighting that gives a great atmosphere! The best part is, it uses almost no electricity!

Unexpectedly Lit

My phone was confiscated and used for general tomfoolery in this class not more than a week ago and the resulting pictures displayed an impressive command of light. Note the way that the subject has framed himself in between the two light sources in the upper left and right corners. 

This example includes an even more interesting framing of the subject's left eye, as though the light was only illuminating that one section. 

Both examples include a lot of sculpting of the facial area and utilize shadows to emphasize the face.

Life Sized Gobo?

About a year ago, I had a European adventure. I was absolutely determined to make it to Musee D'Orsay but my traveling partners were not all that interested in going to a museum, which ultimately ended in me getting terribly lost on my own in Paris. Worth it. Musee D'Orsay has a clock on the outside and visitors are able to explore a unique view of the city from behind it. 

Unfortunately, I did not take any pictures of the shadow cast on the inside of the museum by the clock but in retrospect, the clock face acted like a life sized gobo inside of this museum. It may have been one of my favorite pieces of art in the building, which is big when that building also contained work by van Gogh.

Big Bear Lake

We had the Fechtig Family Reunion up in Big Bear a couple weeks ago and I took it upon myself to explore the surrounding beauty to get a break from the antics. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and I couldn't have asked for a better day. This spot gave me the best experience of the whole view. There were just enough clouds to keep the sky interesting but their reflections on the water were what I really enjoyed. Each moving ripple almost made it look as though they were dancing in the smoother, more glassy areas you could see a perfect mirror image of the lighting reflected.

Cat Light

With this post, I solidify my crazy cat lady future. The other day I noticed my room suddenly looked a bit darker than it had a minute ago and looked up to find my cat blocking some of the light from the window. She's got a thing for lying on top of books and apparently could not resist napping on the stack that I had left on the record player. I noticed the light seemed to create a halo effect and appeared to almost be bending on the blinds in the background. What's more, the light coming through the glass of the candle looks like it made a blurry rainbow on the back wall on the left side of the photo.