the magic and splendor of light

The crud is still trying to keep me down, but I can still surf the Web and find out interesting information!  My dad had told me that some of he and Mom's neighbors were shooting fireworks New Year's Eve, but they also saw some lantern-ish things floating up in the sky.  When I was reading Kelle Hampton's blog yesterday afternoon, I noticed that she and her family had also sent a few lanterns up into the night sky.  I Googled sky lantern from her post and found all these amazing photos and suppliers of these magical lights.  There are even festivals in Asia using sky lanterns and sometimes they are bigger than a grown person.  That got me thinking about photography, and about natural lighting in my house (hey, I was in bed with fever most of the day, why not let my mind wander). 

I love natural lighting in any indoor space, and unfortunately, my house is actually very dimly lit by natural and electrical light except for my studio.  When I was just a toddler growing up in New Orleans, my parents had my baby bed set up by the back windows in my bedroom and I would watch the birds go to the feeders (or "bird restaurant" as I called it when I got older).  There were cardinals, bluejays, and sparrows, and maybe other kinds, too.  Even as an adult in my own house, I like to sit in my chair by the window facing the backyard watching birds and squirrels flitting around in my garden.  If the weather's nice and there are no mosquitoes, I prefer to be outside, but I digress. 

Photography is all about lighting.  The original pinhole cameras operate on allowing light in through the tiny opening when the "shutter" is opened.  That's why, when/if any of you have tried to take a picture of the moon or any night photographs, the shutterspeed can and should be slowed down.  I'm still learning about what makes the best composition and hope to achieve the crispness that I've seen so many times from true professionals.  There are also many fun experiements to try using light in photography.  One of the things I'd like to try one night is "air drawing" with a flashlight.  A roommate of mine and his friends would use different colored LED lights and end up with some crazy photos.  Anyway, now I'm just rambling, and probably should take a nap. Hope I feel better soon, please....and Happy Creating - whatever it may be!

sky lanterns II by tenli