Week 8: Sunsets and Cycs

From the top of the CAC I saw this sunset and it made me think of the Cyc. I haven't had much experience working with the Cyc and creating Sunrise and Sunsets on the Cyc aways seemed really fun and whenever I see a Sunset, I envision it on a Cyc.This one paeticularly caught my attention because of he brilliant Amber fading into the deep, dark blue, with a hint of green in between. Something I'd like to try is messing witht eh Cyc and see if I can recreate that green glow found in the mixing amber and blue, or if it's a phenomenon only found it nature.

Shin's flight from chicago

This was the red eye flight from California to CHicago to go visit and take care of my dad and his affairs due to his passing. I've always known that Chicago was a city full of lights but when I saw this, it just took my breath away. There was a time while I was in the plane where nothing wasn't lit on the ground and I just thought that light is so amazing. Those lamps can't be very big or the strongest but the fact that we can see them all so clearly is just amazing. Also the moon in the first picture looked so cool juxtaposed with the city lights. 

Week 8 lighting, Flying to Freedom

    I took this picture in the late afternoon before sunset. At that time, the sky is gradually turning dark, but it still seems blue. The cloud becomes the only shiny source because the sun goes down and hides behind the cloud. Then, I saw many seagulls flying above the sea, and all of these birds seem to fly towards the shiny cloud. I took a picture of one seagull which flies towards the direction of the cloud. I love this picture because the picture gives me the feeling of freedom and courage. Even though the sky is going dark, the seagull still opens its wings and try to chase the brightness

Week 8 Post - Good Morning Sunshine

I believe I took this picture at dawn, probably around 530AM-ish, just outside of my apartment . . .  Anyways, I love how there’s this wide expanse of bright white/golden light just above the trees, and then it morphs into this pinky/purpley/blue-greyish blend as it moves up into the clouds. I feel like if this composition was in a play or movie, it would come just after the hero saved a town. The street lamps haven’t turned off yet, and if you notice, there’s one branch of a tree faintly lit from one of the lamps. Maybe that would represent the hero, the glimmer of hope that saved the townspeople from some powerful force?? But anyways, the natural light shown here is so beautiful to me, probably because it’s so rare. There’s a brief window of time each day when dawn and dusk occur, and it’s amazing when I get a glimpse of it. 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

            

Nature and a little Andrea

I took this picture right before Lighting class recently when I saw Andrea sitting outside. I love the way the lighting is cutting across the picture, putting distance between the singular tree and Andrea. This shot also caught my eye because of how the sunlight was shining down on the tree bringing out the flowers while also giving backlight to Andrea's figure.

For some reason I always end up taking pictures when I'm driving to or from school. I believe this was when I was driving on the 73 to school later in the day. In person it was so much more than can be shown in this picture! There were many clouds and so clear it looked like they had been painted in the sky. I loved this view because the entire ground level was dark and barely visible besides the edges of everything, while the sky was completely lit up in a wonderful amber that looked like the sun had exploded outwards.

Las Vegas

This past weekend I took a trip to Las Vegas with some friends, and was immediately drawn to all of the lights. The main culture of Las Vegas revolves around the night life so all of the lights are especially bright. First of all, I was excited when I was in Vegas and realized my fascination with the lights because I was analyzing them, and thinking directly about this class. 

The picture presented here was very interesting to me because it is a picture of the strip. There were so many lights that although it was late at night, it seemed almost as bright as the day in a more dim sort of way. I thought it was interesting how each building and hotel had a different style for the presentation of their lights outside, but it all correlated together to create Las Vegas’s exciting atmosphere. Many of the lights seemed to be LEDs because of their strength and bright hues. The common denominator of all the hotels was the power of the light source. Many of the buildings were lined in mirrors or windows so that the light would reflect off of them and create a beautiful contrast between the direct light sources and the light that was being reflected off of the building. 

Shadow Hill

My parents and I went to Europe this summer and my favorite place we went to was Santorini. This island had the most breath taking veiws from almost every single spot. This is one of my favorite pictures from the trip because of how amazing everything looks in the picture. This was what we would see every morning when we would talk into the main part of town from our hotel. I just used to how vast everything would look and how small we would be in comparison to the huge cliffs and valley that isn't showing in this picture. I chose this picture for this weeks blog assignment because of the shadows that you can see. The picture does not at all do justice to the scene but the composition that the shadows make on the ground are really striking to me. They really bring out the vastness of the valley below and it just makes the picture much more dynamic. If the sun had been directly overhead and everything showed then the scene wouldn't have anything hidden and it wouldn't have been as striking to look at in my opinion. But following the theme from last weeks picture, shadows are good. Shadows add more mood. 

San Francisco

These are a few of my favorite pictures from a trip to NorCal this past summer. My boyfriend and I went exploring in SF for a day and we made it a competition to see who could take the best pictures.

So this first one was not taken by me, but I like so many things about it. This was taken across from The Painted Ladies and you can kind of see a few of the buildings in the back. I enjoy the angle of this picture because it feels very intimate and close like I'm a part of it instead of just observing.

This second picture was taken by me during a boat ride on The Bay. First of all it was freezing and I thought I was going to die, but it was so clear and beautiful. This was when we were passing by Alcatraz and the way the sky looked really caught my attention. I really enjoy mix between the gloomy clouds and the warmth of the sun trying to radiating down.

Lastly, this is also from the boat ride, but towards the end when the sun wasn't really present. The fog in this picture creates a lot of mystery for me. I mean I know I have seen this bridge many times, but because I can't see the entire thing it makes me want to look at it that much more. 

A cozy, old home

 This past weekend I got to celebrate my friend's birthday, which was held at her house in Philips Ranch. Her home is one of my favorite places because of its history. It was built in during the Prohibition Era, nooks and crannies in so many different areas of the house. As I took photos of the house, I noticed how well lit everything was; recessed lighting in the ceilings, on the shelves in the walls, inside the cabinets. The detail of the lighting in this house served to be very functional. However, they were also used to accentuate decorations or little areas of the home. Another aspect of the home that I really enjoyed was that it felt very antique-like. I am really drawn to this old time kind of aesthetic, which primarily involves the uses of warm light, incandescents, candles, etc. This home had plenty of that. There were candles lit everywhere around the house. I wish that I was able to capture more photos of how beautiful the home is. However, I felt that I may have been invading on some of their privacy. Hahah

art in candle light

When doing homework at my desk at home, I like to set a comforting mood for me to write. Once turned on, my candle illuminates the flower and creates this stunning spot to look at in my room. I don't place much on my desk since I like to stay organized and neat. I'm a very decorative person and place important items in certain places... and I wanted to share this photo in particular because it reminds of being appreciative. The art piece and the candle were gifts from two very different friends, yet the gifts somehow found themselves in my room together and make me one happy girl. I enjoy looking at the beauty of these items and getting reminded that I have awesome friends and that they care very much about my well being. I'm thankful for the gifts but I'm more thankful to have people like them in my life. The light in this picture is nurturing, supportive, and calming--just like my friends.
p.s I also love how I captured the twinkling lights on the frame--they're a reflection of the strung lights all over my room!


-A

Accenting Water

I have always had a thing for water, particularly rain; call it an affinity if you must. Rain is just so beautiful, not only in the moment, but the imagery it leaves behind. If an area is sheltered nicely, it can leave behind breathtaking water art where you have an image that allows your mind to run rampant with imagination. In other places, it gives a nice sheen that makes the pavement shine like starlight. It also gives a nice accent to the vegetation as everything begins to look a little more healthy, spry, and happy. 

In the picture above, I was left impressed by how green and lush it looked; I just had to snap a photo of it. As I look at it even more, especially in regards to lighting, I started to think about how much of a difference the wet lighted foliage looked in comparison to the dryer. Water provides a nice catalyst to be accented by light. The only thing I wonder is: how much of a difference in emotion and health does this accented water provide for the image? Surely I would have missed out on a nice piece of vegetation without the glistening water calling my attention, but is the greenery actually happier like I want to believe?

Lantern, or nah?

Ran into this guy. I really considered buying it BUT I'm trying save money. Lol. I think it would look amazing having the visual of the lantern in my house, without the fear of my whole place burning down in some random accident! We get the same look, even in temperature color, AND it flickers to simulate a real candle! Thought it was cool seeing one of our first lighting instruments with the practically of led lights! 

Disneyland: Source and Cyc Lighting

On Friday I went to Disneyland and captured some photos that relate to creating natural lighting on stage.

In this photo the Sun, the source, is behind us. But because the sun is so powerful its light can wrap around us even when it is behind us. In lighting we achieve this same aesthetic with a high intensity back light as a source, a low intensity front light, and a tonal to fill in the shadows.

This picture reminds me of a sunset that might be recreated on a cyc. Specifically, I saw a production that took place at a carnival and in front of the cyc there was a sheet of luan, painted black, and cut out to look like the silhouette of a carnival that lined the bottom of the cyc.

Tree Light

This is one of those instances where the picture does not do justice to how nice this scene looked. I took a good ten pictures and picked from this from the bunch because they all pretty much looked the same. But what i really like about this picture is how you can definitely tell where the main source of light is coming from. What its doing is just really beautiful. I really like the definition that the light is giving to all the leaves. It is kind of giving them a flow-y quality and thats what made me really like the picture. The leaves look really great and it just looks almost a little magical with the leaves that are being directly hit looking as if they're glowing and the other ones around having some shadow. I just really liked how we can't see some parts of the picture because of how the light is making it look completely black. Plus the other source of light that we can see is coming from a Pizza shop, and thats never a bad thing.

50C blog 3: ALIENZZZ

Funny story behind this picture: my roommate, Gianna sometimes has a problem waking up in the morning because she sleeps through her alarm. Her parents bought her this special alarm that has so many different tones and noises, and it sounds absolutely insane. From her room, it wakes me up in the morning.

These lights were put up in a weak attempt of being festive for Halloween. They make this eerie red-orange glow that fills the room. It even spills into the hallway and shines through the edges of my doorframe.

One morning, I suppose I was in the middle of a nightmare and Gianna's crazy alarm went off. I bolted upright and saw the colored light seeping into my room and I swear in that split second I was so scared we were being ABDUCTED BY ALIENS!!!!  It was just crazy to me that the combination of sound and light (plus a mid-nightmare Leslie) created this really convincing event that scared me out of my mind. Super embarrassing, but really entertaining in terms of the effect of design.

Week 6 The light through the cloud

 

I took this picture  near a beach  around sunset. I was inspired by this scenery because it gives me the feeling of loneliness as well as brightness. Since the sky is dark blue, the way that the cloud dividing the sky is similar to a streak of light comeing out of the darkness. The lamp post of street light  on the bottom part of the picture are all shown in silhouette. It makes me feel of our human beings,whose power is small and  who have to endure loneliness. However, the bright cloud above us is the same as our expectation of the bright future that we are all heading forward. 

Week 6 - Summertime in the City

This is a picture of my L.A. apartment on move-out day this past June... The place had high ceilings with equally tall windows, allowing for lots of sunlight to shine through, especially in the summertime. I generally did not prefer to open my blinds 100% because of the glare and the sun's heat…and also, it meant that creepy neighbors could see into my abode. HOWEVER, on this particular day, feeling nostalgic, I loved how the natural light lit up the apartment. It was warm and cozy and gave me this sense of openness and freedom. 

Poppin Purple and Blue

This is a picture from a bar that I went to in LA over the weekend. I was immediately drawn to these lights because of their strength and bright hue. I am assuming that they were using par cans because of the power of the light. Also there were a lot of lights so they probably chose par cans to save money. Some of the lights were stationary while others were moving. For these lights thy probably used moving LEDs. 

It is amazing how lights can create a mood and make the viewer feel something. I think that for a popping bar in LA, these lights created the right atmosphere to get people pumped up. They reminded me a lot of Vegas, showing the power of lights to bring back memories. Although I am usually drawn to more natural lights that are less harsh on the eyes, I think that these lights were exciting and appropriate for the situation. They also moved to the beat of the music that was playing which really made me want to dance. 

There's a storm in Chicago

I took this photo when I was visiting my dad in Chicago and it was so surreal. The weather was perfectly fine and it was sunny not 10 minutes before we saw this weather. The clouds actually look like they are painted and not even real, and the color that was being made with the sun light and clouds was something that I couldn't even explain. Just looking at this photo makes me feel the chill I felt in my bones again and that's the kind of feeling I Want to evince in my lighting design if I ever could.

Go!

Oh yeah! Bought this bad boy this weekend. I knew the ornament would look dope lit up, but I wasn't aware of what would happen  to the light emmited onto the wall! I wasn't thinking that far ahead.... Lol! So I totally thought of our lighting class and GOBOS! The light on the wall around the sphere has sooo much texture. There's a lot of swirling movement going on, but the overall quality of the light is feathery to me. It's as if a  pillow exploded during a sexy pillow fight....Lol.  I like it :)

Prism Fishtank

Checked this out the other morning.
Apparently the corner glass on my roomate's fish tank acts as a prism, separating out the light shining into it into different wavelengths, and creating a tiny rainbow on my living room wall. Hooray.

Blog #2: "Escape: All Hallow's Eve"

So, I went to my first rave this weekend. It was a bit strange for me, but it was definitely "sense overload". I was looking at everything from a critical eye, and with a theatrical perspective (probably because I'm a drama kid, in a lighting class, who's new to raves, and was absolutely sober).

This was just one of the many shots of the lighting I got. I love this one because it was right during the drop of a song early on in the night, so this was one of the first major uses of light. (I learned later that they don't let the earlier DJs go all out, the let the whole event build into a big finale at the end. SO since this was a smaller DJ around 6:30pm, this was the first use of extreme cued lighting timed specifically for a drop). They keep blowing fog throughout the entire event so that the colored lights catch on it and show the purest color possible. These fans of blue light bounced up and down and eventually cause everyone to  bounce their raised arms in the same fashion. Since the "show" isn't the actual artist (like it would be watching Beyonce with her dancers, or a boyband with choreographed solos and whatnot) the show is really the lighting. A couple of the people in our group were telling me one of the things they love is how well put together the lights are with the music, and how it all combines to make you feel good. Although this person was highly inebriated when he told me this, I couldn't help but agree. It's all to put on a show and please an audience! In short, raves = theatre. Lol.

The Lights!

In honor of our lecture on the history of lighting, I made my friends stop at the Urban Lights at LACMA on our Halloween destination. I had never visited before but there was something very magical about the way those lights looked in the middle of a beautiful, rainy night. These are a bunch of restored 1920s and 1930s street lamps! Granted, we were very wasted by then, but it was definitely worth it. I've been thinking about angles and recreating emotion through light since our past discussion in class. In this case, we have a very brightly light street- the lighting source coming from the sides (S.R. & S.L.) and a back angle. I'd totally be looking to recreate a feeling of joy and high energy! Definitely one for the books! (Can we use this somewhere in our Lamp Book ?!)

The Lights!

In honor of our lecture on the history of lighting, I made my friends stop at the Urban Lights at LACMA on our Halloween destination. I had never visited before but there was something very magical about the way those lights looked in the middle of a beautiful, rainy night. These are a bunch of restored 1920s and 1930s street lamps! Granted, we were very wasted by then, but it was definitely worth it. I've been thinking about angles and recreating emotion through light since our past discussion in class. In this case, we have a very brightly light street- the lighting source coming from the sides (S.R. & S.L.) and a back angle. I'd totally be looking to recreate a feeling of joy and high energy! Definitely one for the books! (Can we use this somewhere in our Lamp Book ?!)

I know this is another picture of the sky. But the was how the sky looked Saturday morning after the rain, and i could not stop looking at it. The way the sun is spreading in where it hits the clouds reminds of how we talked in class about the frosted look that would really flood that light that and i really liked that about how the sun looked. Some the light is even spilling through the clouds, its really seen in the second picture. But, my favorite part about the light is how the shadow adds so much texture to the clouds. There are so many layers of clouds and we can only tell by how they're being hit by the light. The clouds towards the left side of the picture in the second picture look from a completely different time of day because of the lack of light. I just really liked how the shadows in these picture are one of the main reasons why it looks really nice.

Blog 2: Puff of Light

I snapped this picture while I was driving back home to Los Angeles. The sudden brightness that emerged from the clouds caught my attention. The contrast between light and dark in the sky was calming and very beautiful. I couldn't stand and enjoy it for long but I was fortunate enough to grab my phone and snap a photo while at a stop sign.

The sun's intensity filled a part of the cloud like a puff of light. My focus was directed to the source of light almost immediately. The combination between the shades of blue and grey among the sky made something about what I was looking at not normal... at least I like to think that. The shadows that covered earth surface distinctly separated light and dark and that was fascinating to see at the moment for some reason. Perhaps it was because it felt Godly, awakening, or refreshing.

Enjoy :)      

Gobos Reflecting Nature

I was walking back from rehearsal one night when I noticed shadows on the ground. A streetlight was shining through trees (almost like a down light) and it created a nice texture on the sidewalk. It reminded me of the Gobo that is most often used for creating the illusion of forests or water. The reason I found this so remarkable was that whenever I had seen the Gobo used in shows I had always just accepted the Gobo as, "This is just an interpretation of texture for light shining through trees". I didn't really believe that this texture could be found in the real world, mostly because I had never bothered to look for myself and see if the texture could be found in nature. So when I saw this on the sidewalk I was like, "Woah! Stop! Gotta take a picture of this because this is awesome!" For myself it was kind of an "Ah ha!" moment where I realized the legitimacy of the Gobo and how accurate it actually was in imitating nature.

In Light's Footsteps

When thinking about light, there are some givens - warmth, visibility, color, etc. However, there's a little aspect that isn't always remembered. That aspect is the shadow that is left behind after light does its job; whenever there is light, there is also darkness in its wake.

I noticed this shot one day when I was standing outside of the Robert Cohen Theater while waiting to be picked up to go run errands with a friend. I believe it was in the early-leaning-towards-mid-afternoon. At first glance, I didn't think too much of it as I just saw a large blob of shade to the side. Upon really looking at it, with not much on my mind, I saw something astounding. I noticed that "School of the Arts" (or rather, "Chool of the Arts") was sprawled across the Robert Cohen in its silhouetted glory.

Every time I look at this photo, I'm just taken aback. I'm just really on board with this photo. I'm not sure what exactly about it is so appealing to me, but I'm just fascinated by it. There are moments where I wonder this intentional and some kind of artistic design (after all, this is the Art school) or if I just managed to snap a great moment. Most moments, I just sit here and convince myself that it has to be an artistic choice as it had great spacing and made good use of the surfaces. Not once does a letter find itself wedged in a corner and hard to decipher. 

In a theatrical sense, this does give me some things to consider and play around with when it comes to shading and shadows. The next step for me is to learn how to accurately produce, rather than just tweaking until magic happens. 

 

Skydive

This picture was taken when I went skydiving this summer in Oahu! The first thing I notice and really enjoy when I look at this picture is the deep blue hue of the sky and the water in this photo, it seems so authentic and calming to me. I also am very attracted to how the background and scenery of this picture is clear and in focus, while my tandem skydiver and myself are almost silhouetted, almost.

Sunlight

Some of my favorite moments are outdoors, under the natural sunlight and moonlight. The colors are so crisp... Much of the lighting design that we try to emulate has to do with outdoors and how well we can depict natural lighting using the different brushstrokes. This top photo is the view from my window. It is one of my favorite views in my apartment. It over looks a busy street, a housing community, and the mountains far in the distance. The sun rises on the eastern side which is where my window faces. The sunlight greatly affects my mood and how I go about my day. I use the rising sun to wake me up in the morning. I keep my blinds open and let the sun wake me... I would say it is more effective than my 10+ alarms. Also, I love to see the clouds casting shadows over certain areas.

The second photo is from the front patio area of my apartment. This view is perfect during the sunset (it is directly opposite of the view in my bedroom). I enjoy living on the highest level because it has the best views. This photo was taken at about 4:45pm. The sun is slowly setting with the clouds covering. When it nears sunset hour, you can really see the Raleigh Scattering in the sky take affect. The deep reds, oranges, and even purples in the sky are so prominent.

Lastly, I wish I could have taken a better photo, but I was driving. I wanted to capture the side of this mirrored building. From a distance, it looked as if this building didn't even exist. It reflected the sunlight so accurately. It doesn't show on this photo so well, however, on the right side of this photo, you can almost see the reflection of all the clouds that were in the sky when it was taken. This building was really interesting to me.

Week 4 natural light on campus

I took this picture on UCI campus around the time of sunset.The location of the picture is around humanity hall. The color of the sunlight at that time is  white and a little bit yellow.  I really feel inspired by this natural lighting. The yellow light shines on the ground, and the red leaves and the orange leaves reflect the sunlight. The leaves seem to be transparent because of their reflection of sunlight. It is a beautiful scene which gives me a feeling of hope,for the sun seems to be the lighthouse leading our ways, and the leaves and their shadows looks like a large amount of footsteps walking towards the sun.

The Claire Trevor

The Claire Trevor Theater, a place where inside all types of interesting and unique lighting take place on a beautiful stage, yet many times I fail to notice the outside as well. This theater is something that I walk by every day and only ever consider what happens inside of it. Taking this picture helped me to realize how much beauty is outside of it as well. Many times in life we focus on the obvious that is right in front of us rather than looking up or at things we don’t usually see, this is a perfect example of that. Humans fall into routine but I think it is important to take time to look around you and into more depth at little things so that we do not become overcome by this routine. 

The lighting in this picture is very beautiful and interesting. I love how the golden hue of the theater is being brought out by the natural sunlight and is contrasted so beautifully by the deepish blue sky. My favorite thing about this picture though is the shadow cast on the wall. Although this part is not light actually, it took light to create the absence of it.  It is very intriguing to see the angular straight line on the left of the building that runs almost parallel to the roof of the theater slowly fade away. It is still there but is a little less noticeable because is covered by a more blotchy shadow of the trees. 

I love how lighting within nature changes based on the time of the day. Although something may look one way in the morning, it is sure to look different at night. This constant change is one of the things that makes nature so beautiful and keeps it exciting.