Tuesday, April 26, 2011

dancing light



This isn't the most exciting picture I've posted, but trust me and keep reading because I've been thinking out of the box, just like all of you. This is a still picture of the magical dancing light which appears on a particular wall in our home, but only for a few minutes in the evening, for a few weeks of the year. As the sun sets behind the trees in the garden it produces a beautiful pattern of light and shade, and the slightest breeze causes the leaves to move, making the pattern seethe and shimmer like boiling water. Ella and Miles often call me to come and watch the dancing light with them. And as we watch the light move around the house touching different rooms in different ways throughout the summer, we are reminded of those special windows cut into Egyptian tombs that let a shaft of light in, but only on a particular day.

I tried taking photos of this dancing light, but a still image simply doesn't capture the way it looks. So I ended up taking a short video clip (below) with my iPhone and uploaded it to vimeo.



It's not so much a video as a moving photograph, because I composed it like a still photograph -- it just happens to be a video clip instead. It turns out that this is an emerging style of photojournalism, where photographers compose a still image and then also take a short video clip, sometimes moving the camera slightly and running the video at a high frame rate to give a slow-motion effect. You can see an inspirational example here. It's not a slideshow and it's not a video; it's more a set of moving photographs.

Suzie Q's image captures such a tender moment. You can almost hear the quiet and feel the rocking as she gets her new baby ready for bed.

Do you ever wish that a photograph was a short video clip instead? A still, moving photograph?

kirstin of fleeting moments

Evening Glow
evening glow by suzie.q

9 comments:

mosey (kim) said...

I've been waiting for this to publish just so I can finally tell you how much I LOVE it. I have those spots in my house too, where the light is magic just for moments. And I frequently shoot short video but thus far haven't really done anything with them. I'm obviously overlooking an opportunity. Great post, Kirstin and I love Suzie's photo too.

Maureen said...

Wow.
That is so beautiful. I love that you did a video of it also. On good days, I have magic light in my bedroom early in the morning, and I love laying in bed watching the dancing shadows before I begin my day.
Great post and pairing. Suzie's photo is wonderful also.

Stephanie said...

Dancing light....what a beautiful phrase. I am mesmerized by your video Kirstin. The beauty of the light is greatly enhanced by the shadow figure that walks through the frame. This moves me deeply. I am grateful that you've shared this today. My photographers eye is opened a bit further because of it.

Unknown said...

amazing. i was driving to work yesterday and noticing the running photo-video of the trees overhead reflected in the rear car window in front of me, and i was thinking that i wished i had a video camera, or could take a series of still shots just like this. beautiful work, and a beautiful concept!

Karenliz Henderson said...

Beautiful! I love dancing light. Love your video and even your photograph. Makes me do a lot of thinking about what I see in my camera lens too.

GailO said...

I love this concept of the moving photo...when it is beautifully done like this. The short shadow video is wonderful1! I will need to upgrade my iphone:)

Unknown said...

Love this! We have one of those patches as well. I agree sometimes I wish I had a video, and often I wish instead that I could record a sound or a smell. I think maybe one reason spring is hard for me to photograph is that the sounds and smells are so intense, and a photo doesn't do them justice.

Tamar said...

i have several spots in my house that are immersed in wonderful evening light. i will definitely try this out. thanks for sharing this beautiful post. x

April said...

So beautiful Kirstin! I love this idea, in my home growing up we had little patches like this :)

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