May 2015

This Month's Photograph As a child, I never understood why people made photographs, since they just looked like a record of what you could see with your eyes. I was more interested in creating images that looked different. During a visit to Times Square, my parents bought me a small novelty camera that produced circular photographs, which I thought would allow me to create unique images. However, I never actually got to see any of the circular photographs I shot, since the camera had an unfortunate voyage through a washing machine with my first roll of film. Unfortunately, my parents were unable to replace the camera. As a result, making circular photographs become one of my first objectives when I began to pursue photography as an adult. I like circular photographs, because they offer a deep, dreamlike perspective.  This photograph was shot in Acadia National Park in Maine, a place where I take photographs for at least a few days every summer. More of my circular photographs can be seen at:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/paullight/sets/72157600244893559/

April 2015

This Month's Photograph I began making panoramic photographs in 1974 after seeing the work of Art Sinsabaugh. I liked how he used a long horizontal frame to create a unique type of wide angle photograph. Sinsabaugh used a huge "banquet" view camera that shot 12" x 20" film. Long ago I tried to buy a camera like this and found it was not possible. Since then, I have tried a variety of approaches to achieve the same effect-including pasting darkroom photographs together, using cameras with manufactured and custom-made masks, working with a variety of panoramic stitching programs, and employing sweep panoramic. I currently work with the panoramic stitching applications Autostitch, Calico and Photomerge, as well as manual stitching in Photoshop and cameras utilizing Sweep Panorama firmware. I created this photograph using a digital mirrorless camera mounted on a tripod with a Really Right Stuff Panoramic head and editing it with Photomerge. More of my panoramics can be seen at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/paullight/sets/72157633709957926/

March 2015

This Month's Photograph I first became interested in the idea of using two or more photographs together after seeing Duane Michaels 1970 book "Sequences" and the 1940 photograph by Ansel Adams "Surf Sequence, San Mateo County Coast, California." While Michaels used multiple panel photographs to tell a story and Adams used them to show a sequence in time, I wanted to use them as a way to explore space in an unconventional way. I am drawn to making these photographs, especially triptychs, for their ability to expand wide angle perspective in a way that is uniquely different from what is captured with a wide angle lens.  More of my triptychs can be seen at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/paullight/sets/72157634890963838/

February 2015

This Month's Photograph This is a photograph from my upcoming exhibit of candid photographs at Middlesex Community College, where I teach. Paul Light - Candids Middlesex Community College Henderson Hall Bedford, Massachusetts March 2 to April 3, 2015   If you are in the Boston area, please come see my exhibit https://www.flickr.com/photos/paullight/…/72157650451361958/

January 2015

This Month's Photograph My earliest photographs of people were street candids. Occasionally, I made portraits of friends. This all changed after seeing the portraits of Paul Strand and Diane Arbus. I liked how Strand and Arbus photographed people in a simple and direct way.  My first 20 years of portraits were mostly of total strangers in Boston and Cambridge, taken as I roamed the streets creating photographs for newspaper and textbook publishers. I used as a neutral a background as I could find spontaneously. Most of these photographs were black and white. What I liked about creating these portraits was that the people interacted with me, influencing the way the photographs looked. In recent years, I have mostly photographed my students at Middlesex Community College. I initially began these portraits as a way to demonstrate to students how to photograph people. As time went on, I realized that these demonstrations offered another opportunity for me to the work that I so valued. In doing so, I found myself going back to where I started - with square, black and white photographs, taken outdoors, with direct and neutral backgrounds. You can see more of my portraits at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/paullight/sets/72157650122445296/

December 2014

https://www.flickr.com/photos/paullight/11853598555/ This Month's Photograph I like how photography operates outside of real space and time, making it an ideal medium to reconstruct them, yet at the same time presenting an illusion of something that is real. I took this photograph on Newbury Street in Boston. It shows two adjacent spaces that I found mutually attractive. Rather than creating two individual photographs, I choose to superimpose the images, hoping to combine the best qualities of each.  I have used this layering technique since I began photography, initially working with a camera shutter that didn't lock after a single exposure was made. The number of ways to make this type of image has been greatly expanded with the advent of digital photography. I created this photo using an iPhone and an in-camera app called DXP. You can see more of my layered photographs at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/paullight/sets/72157603828248742/  I like the idea of building a photograph, as opposed to finding a photograph. Finding a photograph is often dependent on finding new places to photograph. Building a photograph is independent of finding new places. Throughout my career, I have created both "built" photographs and "found" photographs. Two of my favorite photographs are complete opposites: Apocalypse II  1967 - Jerry Uelsmann  (a built photograph)   http://www.artsconnected.org/resource/18629/apocalypse-ii   The Lusetti Family, Luzzara, Italy 1953 - Paul Strand (a found photograph)   http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=51750

November 2014

https://www.flickr.com/photos/paullight/7985134631 This Month's Photograph In the 1980s I did a series of still lifes for textbook publishers, magazines and advertising clients. This led to me thinking about lighting still lifes. I started to explore the possibilities, creating a series of still lifes shot in a totally dark room. I lit the objects by moving around small handheld flash units and flashlights. I continue to pursue this technique, because it allows me to redefine the space in ways that would be physically impossible in daylight or with traditional studio lighting. I love the way I can create multidirectional light, change where the shadows and highlights fall, and mix various colors of light. You can see more of my nightwork at  http://www.lightwavephoto.com/Portfolio.cfm?nK=16423