[Leica] Light

[Donal Philby <donalphilby@earthlink.net>]

Alan Magayne-Roshak Wrote: 

In response to my writing:

> Using two lights is more complicated, because you have to still make it
>look  > like one light, as in nature.

You don't necessarily have to make it look like one light. It is not
good
to have ugly shadows from poor placement of light sources, but I don't
agree that one has to make a photo mimic nature.  Look at all the
wonderful
multiple flash photos from the Milwaukee Journal when they were the
leaders
in photos for reproduction.  Let me offer this quote:

"The double lighting is definitely a violation - a violation of nature,
if
you like.  But if it is a violation of nature, I add immediately that it
is
superior to nature.  I say that this is a master stroke, and proves that
with genius art is not entirely subject to the necessities imposed by
nature but has laws of its own."

- - - Goethe, during a discussion on a Rubens landscape in which two
sources of
  light can be seen: Eckermann's Conversations, 1827

Alan,
Agreed.  But there does need to be some "logic" in the light.  When I
first started lighting i used large light sources.  As I learned more
and more I used more and more lights with smaller and smaller sizes til
I was often lighting an industrial scene with 8-10 lights, all with grid
spots.  But you have to work on a logic, a naturalness, to do so.  It is
not easy, it takes experience to learn how.  It is much like movie
lighting, especially the churascuro style today.  

At a certain level you can light so subtley that you can hardly tell
where the light sources are, and things just seem to glow from inside. 
That is far from the documentary style at a certain level, and
wonderfully documentary at another.  A sort of working through to the
other side.  Zen Buddhists and Taoist would appreciate such mastery.  A
sort of Wu-Wei.

donal
__________
Donal Philby
San Diego
www.donalphilby.com