Photo Challenge: Lighting

It’s time for another Brenda Photo Challenge! The current theme is Lighting. I was really excited to see this topic. Lighting makes or breaks your photo. It can be used to gently tease your subject matter or flood it dramatically. The viewer’s eye is always drawn to the lightest parts of an image. So savvy photographers leverage the composition of a scene by being mindful of how the subject matter is lit. And sometimes, light plays such a starring role that it becomes the true subject of a captured image. On those occasions, it steals the scene.

I chose all of my challenge photos from my digital inventory for Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill. Additionally, I added textured background images to enhance each one. All of the background images are courtesy of Shadowhouse Creations (see sidebar link).

My first challenge entry is an old-fashioned lantern, hung on weathered clapboard siding. A gentle sideways glow of natural light is further assisted by strategically adding a darkened texture layer. Color balance and saturation were also adjusted to evoke a vintage feel. The image was taken at f/5.3, 1/60 second, and ISO 200.

light in the light

If ever there was a photo shoot location that teases you with light, it is the Centre Family Dwelling at the historical site. In the picture below, the afternoon daylight eases down the main hallway from the right. Meanwhile, a soft glow of indirect sunlight whispers beyond the open door. Both sources of light are reflected and playing tag in the arched vestibule. I added a light mocha textured background to give the overall image a painterly look. The camera settings were f/5, 1/100 second, ISO 800.

lightplay in a Shaker doorway

I have shown my fascination before on this blog with stairways in the Centre Family Dwelling. When one has a bad knee, it takes a bit of determination to walk up to the very top of this large building. But there are several views that make the effort worthwhile, including a staircase that leads to a rooftop window. It is a scene that makes a photographer’s heart melt, with dramatic lighting and strong visual angles. In challenging myself to make my picture even more striking, I was inspired to digitally superimpose an image of a cloudy sky. This blurs reality, melding the doorway and sky magically together. The image was taken at f/7.1, 1/4000 second, and ISO 800.

stairway to heaven

When the angels come to lead us on our final journey, this is what I imagine the trip will look like - a walk up a stairway, from darkness, and toward the light.