night light

As photographers, we are light chasers. In many cases, we wait all day for that golden hour to arrive so we can race outside to capture everything in sight. In darkness, we rest...to recharge for the next beautifully lit moment. But I remember a time, before I identified myself as a photographer, in which I was scared of the dark. It was not a source of rest, but the boogie man. The light was my protector from the unknown.

Needless to say, I'm no longer scared of the dark...and those traces of light are much more than my protector from the unknown. The light has become a source of inspiration, spirit, creativity and much more. Much like the colors reflected amongst the light of the carnival rides, I am mesmerized by the disco colors reflected in Stormchild's pint glass. Who says we have to wait for daylight for that next inspired moment - I prefer the night light.

Until next time,
Ashley of Ramblings and Photos

Disco Pint by Stormchild

finding the romance

Dawn is my favourite time to take pictures. I seem to switch on in that morning light, my whole body tingling with excitement as I head out early after a bowl of warm porridge, knowing that my family is all wrapped up warmly inside, still sleeping. But oh it is so lovely to be out there where things are quiet, waking up slowly, watching the sun suffuse nature with warmth, enjoying that light as it changes from silver to gold. That last scene from Pride and Prejudice is one of my favourites, watching the couple glow in the light after their walk across the misty gold fields.

As I snapped away in the dawn a few weeks ago, I didn't feel my toes getting cold until they were numb but I knew that when I went home my Mr Darcy would be there with a warm cup of coffee for me. I wonder if *reina* found her Mr Darcy as she looked across this field. It looks like the perfect light to me, just right for finding the romance.

I love watching day break. What's your favourite time to capture romantic light, to share some of the romance? Try setting your alarm early one morning and head out to explore that dawn light. You might even find your Mr Darcy...

kirstin of fleeting moments

golden fence by *reina*

hipsta light fantastic

We've seen all kinds of gorgeous light flowing through the flickr pool and on the blog here over the past few weeks. It's really quite amazing what light can do to a photo--whether we carefully set our aperture and use our lens in some way to capture wonderful flare and bokeh, or we purposefully angle ourselves in just the right place at the right time to maximize nature's sparkling beauty.

Me? I went straight to my iPhone for this theme. Your mobile phone can be a fun and unique way to capture light. Just throw all the technical stuff out the window and shoot straight into the morning sun as I did above. A partially blocked sun can be magical too, or watch what happens when you place the sun just off to the side of your photo as in keenemomma's stunning image below. Just click, and let the app do the rest for unpredictable results!

These two photos were taken using the Hipstamatic app with different lens and film combinations, but there are plenty of other ways to achieve interesting light effects with your mobile phone--I like format126 for a bright orange sun and iDarkroom can be fun if you like to play with light leaks for that toy camera look. And of course, these images aren't limited to the iPhone--you can get fantastic results with your droid phones too. Remember, it's all about getting out there and experimenting with different combinations. The effects can be wild and wonderful...let your mobile phone surprise you!

~christy {urban muser}

the tinge of florida fall in the lovely morning light, as lucas sees it, by keenemomma

you light up my life.

Any photographer knows the importance of the light. We become observers, seekers, sometimes even commandeers of the light, co-opting it and coercing it for our photographs. It is an interesting relationship we have with the light. Like being stood up for a date, if the light isn't promising, the day is filled with less to look forward to, as it may be a day without photography. The result is having to learn how to use light creatively, to make the most out of the least light, and to see it in new ways at times. And to really make the most of it when it is in the mood to cooperate, when it is truly "the light fantastic." Tell me that doesn't sound like a romantic relationship at times? So far, light has been good to me, and so I'll keep showing it off in gratitude. Light, quite literally, is "the light of my life" as a photographer.

heavenly~flower is a master of the light fantastic. If you followed her 365, you know how well she utilized the light to be innovative and keep it going every day. She's a lover of flare, silhouettes, and backlit nature shots like her example below.

thanks for reading!

Cara of cararosephotos

dear to us are those who love us by heavenly~flower

magical light

In my book, all light is pretty fantastic as it touches our lives in such magical ways.  It greets us at at our birth and each morning when we wake.  It dances across our carpets and throws shadows upon our walls. Light hums soft melodies in woodland sanctuaries, murmurs patterned chords across the lake, and claps vibrant encores upon city spires.  It sweeps the fog from valley hollows and runs down surrounding hills like a wave upon the sand.  It paints a colorful autumn canvas and sprinkles glitter on freshly fallen snow.  Light illuminates our daily paths, and finally, each evening creates a spectacle to celebrate the close of day.

As photographers, we stalk this magic - this light.  We scope out mountain vistas, forest nooks, and dimly lit city streets.  We lie in wait, little black boxes and tripods at the ready.  The light arrives evaporating darkness; revealing color, form, pattern, and texture.  It stages a theater of many moods and acts.  We watch enamored, we click… and click again.  Light fantastic.  It is a magical gift for photographers.  It is our inspiration and true subject.

Marianna captured an amazing bit of magic in her piece, Light Catchers!

Anna of Alchemy of Art 

light catchers by marianna a.

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Thank you Anna for guest musing with us today. If you'd like to know more about Anna, be sure to visit her at Alchemy of Art. Also, if you are interested in a future guest muse role, please email us at mortalmuses9 [at] gmail.com.

three cheers for messrs daguerre and talbot!

Photography, as everyone knows, is all about light and the early history of photography is all about the various methods used to try and fix the light to make a permanent recording of a passing moment. The camera obscura – which works like a pinhole camera and could project a live image onto a surface – had been around for a very long time (it was known in ancient China).  So it's hard to believe that it's only 180 years ago that Daguerre and Talbot, working in different countries, finally figured out how to ‘freeze’ and preserve the projected image. It’s difficult for us to imagine how exciting it must have been in those days to see a scene permanently recorded just by the action of light on chemicals. We’ve become so used to the idea now that we completely take it for granted.

But imagine if you’d never seen a photograph before, if all that you knew was the long, slow process of drawing and painting. Imagine that your knowledge of how things looked in the world had depended totally on these up till now. Wouldn’t it seem like an absolute miracle that within a few minutes you could have a picture in your hands that recorded every detail of the scene in front of you with total accuracy?  And, in the 1950s, when Kodak automated the process and made cameras cheap enough for everyone to afford, anyone could do it.

Things have moved on since then, and we're no longer obsessed with making everything in a photo look sharply detailed just because we can.  Other things have become more important to us, and the quality of the light is one of these. Some kinds of light truly are fantastic and give our photos real impact, and the right light can make a very ordinary subject look extraordinarily dramatic. Both these images have a strong sense of movement, but what really makes them work is the light. The play of light on autumn leaves in a stream becomes a colourful abstract and in Mary "Manya"'s photo it turns a swimmer into a blaze of glory.

by gilly of the camera points both ways

I tried to capture a mermaid by mary "manya"

transformation

As light moves through or reflects off surfaces, it is transformed. On my recent trip to downtown Chicago, I was fascinated by the light reflecting off of the skyscrapers, creating directional light where no light should be. All the wrong angles and directions, this skyscraper-light is different than true sunlight, transformed by the reflection. This back alley was a prime example, with bright light streaming down through the buildings in the direction opposite the sun. It was a fascinating exercise to capture the light and shadows here, and observe the different qualities of the light.

For similar reasons, I was entranced by christinellen's image below when I came upon it in the pool. Her capture of the light transforms this every day object into an abstract work of art. All light and lines.

Whether it's the diffuse light of heavy clouds, or sunlight reflected by towering skyscrapers, the light transforms the world around us. There is always something new to see, in the light.

Kat of The Kat Eye View of the World

Kind looks like what we might see when we die... by christineellen

the light danced within her palms

Light! Ask any photographer and they will tell you, light can make or break their day. Capturing the perfect light for a photo, can send me to the moon and back. But bad lighting, can send me running for the hills. I waited until about 4pm before accepting the idea, that the sun might not make it's appearance, for me to shoot "light fantastic." So I went for the string of fairy lights and made do. The lights bounced within my camera, the more I worked my lens. I focused just enough, to get the outline of my daughters hands, and fingers. All along, I hoped the jar of lights, would excite me. Soon enough, the light danced within her palms, they told the story I wanted to share, as she outstretched her hands toward me. 

Light is always trial and error for me. I tend to favor light that is natural and softens... light that glows. That's what I saw within dawndh's photo. It's brilliance and natural light, took my breath away. 

Warmly, 

christina {soul aperture}

by dawndh

and the next theme is...LIGHT FANTASTIC

It surrounds us daily, and for most of us, it will determine when we awaken or when we go to sleep. Many of our jobs depend upon it, and for photographers, it will determine exactly how we craft our work. I'm talking about light. But not just any light, the kind of light that makes you grab your camera and start snapping away. We're talking about Light Fantastic, that soul-seeking, heart-stopping inspirational light that can make us gasp in wonder or sigh with delight.

bateman's by kirstin mckee

Twice a year on the lead up to the solstice something magical occurs. whether your waxing or waning ,the light begins to shift and change presenting some wonderful opportunities. In the Northern hemisphere, the autumn light takes on a warm glow coating everything in a rich warm hue. The Magic Hour during this time of year takes on a whole new meaning.

autumn glow by holly {soupatraveler}

Sometimes, it is how the light catches your subject that will cause your heart to beat faster. Light refractions in water can create some incredible shadows, reflections and delicious bokeh.

water droplets by boney muggle

Where we place the light in our subject...in front, behind, to the side...stylistically will change everything about the story we're presenting. Do we highlight just one section of our subject, or do we throw it in the dark by shooting it as a silhouette. We don't even have to use natural light to achieve something spectacular.

safe by lindsey (modchik)

We can also take a more subtle approach when using light maintaining the same drama as Lindsey's shot above while touching an emotional chorde like Christina's shot below which can connect many of us to our own memories of catching lightening bugs on a warm, summer evening.

summers night light by christina {soul aperture}

For the next ten days, go out there and seek your own Light Fantastic. Show us what that means to you. Maybe you'll capture a sunset or a sunrise or be surprised by a hint unexpected sunflare stealing into your shot? Or perhaps you'll seek other types of light sources as your inspiration? Whatever you do, be sure to share your images with us in our Mortal Muses Theme group on flickr. I look forward to seeing what Light Fantastic means to you!

Holly {Soupatraveler}