http://brandonhunter.org/unlikely

Johannes Vermeer "De Melkmeid" 1660s

The treatment of interior spaces throughout the history of art intrigues me, regardless of media. I remember being fascinated with environmental portraits as I watched slide lectures in art history, watching the environment become more important as time passed. The blank physical spaces where the model existed became areas where artists could fill it with objects, color, and light. Sometimes these are compositional devices, and other times objects were placed to contribute to the understanding of the work.

I am interested in these various methods of treatment because my final body of photographic work features models in a clearly defined interior space. As I delve further into amateur lighting techniques I am flooded with endless possibilities as to how I may handle the spaces.

Jodi Bieber

When I began the ideation process for this project back in October, I began to collect images that treated the space in beautiful ways. The example above uses soft light to cast shadows, giving depth to an otherwise flat surface. Vermeer does a similar treatment by adding a gradient. It not only illuminates the model, but defines the space and gives color intrigue through the various shades that arise from the degradation of light.

Dmitry Samarov

I have explored different media, ranging from oil painting to the obvious photography. I realize now that light is a major component of any medium and must be considered by the artist. Some artists let the light fall as it is, while others, especially photographers, manipulate light to better control the image. One of the separating factors between photography and the rest of the media is the instantaneous feedback provided by the camera machine (I am speaking only of digital). A photographer may easily see the effects of their experimentations, relying on the firing of the camera itself and the strobe lights. Painters, drawers, and sculptors, however, are “stuck” so to speak on their light. Of course they may set up light of their own, but it becomes a more versatile science as artists learn to deal with what they have.

I have an opportunity to experiment with different lighting effects. The problem is that my time with each model is limited, so I have been experimenting on the side. Lighting is an exact science, one that a Lynchburg College student must learn on their own. We do not have the equipment, nor the expertise among the faculty to better learn the commercial elements of studio lighting, thus my explorations into these diverse and often tricky techniques.

Jessica Miller

I remember looking at the work of Jessica Miller, a now close friend of mine, when she spoke to my Photography 2 class a year ago. I was fascinated with her treatment of light. Her work does not have one formula, rather a variety of light all reaching a beautiful equilibrium. I was fortunate enough to interact with Jessica a few times when she shot on location. I was her photo assistant keeping track mostly of forms and transporting the equipment. I was able to watch her methods and see how versatile she was with on-location lighting. It was through these interactions with Jessica that I became motivated to better understand light and how I may exploit it to my needs.

Below are a few more works that are inspiring me as I move onward with my project.

Allen Frame

Ambroise Tezenas

There are so many methods of lighting a scene, each method changing the mood of the image. It will be a difficult decision to decide upon one method. On a brighter note, I look forward to the experimentation phases.

Hellen van Meene

I’m not really wanting to make a commentary about her work conceptually, rather take note of her visual style. Hellen van Meene’s work is beautiful, perhaps a mixture of natural and artificial light. Her portrait work is fascinating in that she explores the ideas of youth and beauty, sex and gender.

Hellen van Meene

Hellen van Meene

I want to draw on the softness on her images as I complete my final work. There is something very powerful in her delicacy, both with her models, the environment, and her technique.