It does feel a bit bleak. I also re-visited the song "That Funny Feeling" by Bo Burnham (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObOqq1knVxs). It evokes a similar feeling that I get when I think about the performative nature of social media...
This was such a great read, incredibly well written and on point. Also that song was so good. I’d only ever heard of Rainer Maria, so I’ll be listening to that album today.
Thank you. Yes, it's one of my favorite Rainer Maria songs. I'm a huge fan of their 1999 album, 'Look Now, Look Again.' That's probably their best work, in my opinion. Worth the listen for sure, especially the song "Planetary."
As I'm not a night photographer I hadn't thought of night shots in these terms of the type of street lights but I have to agree that the sodium light is so much more atmospheric...I do wonder why with the LED lights they don't use the warm ones to soften the light the effect. I was quite shocked to read that about Capture Ones capability to copy another persons image settings for your own work - where's the creativity in that!
Exactly! Just turn the temperature warmer, put a shade on the top to redirect the light down, and I wouldn't have near as much problem with them as I do.
This essay is gorgeous, and puts to words what I've been feeling as of late. I've taken a few steps away from my photography as art, being firmly rooted in my high volume school portrait jobs this month. Any time I start to think about creating art, I feel lost in this question "Am I doing this because I want to be understood, or am I doing it to get noticed?" It's a question that can produce icky feelings, depending on the answer. If no clear answer produces itself, I'm staying quiet. And, I feel like I've been reeeeeal quiet on my art and writing front.
I don't want to think the lightbulbs in my brain are all going LED. So, I'm choosing to allow for darkness until I get the right jolt. Thanks for the thoughtful, and as always, novel reminder, wrapped in a true but hopeful melancholy, with a dash of nostalgia.
Thank you, Amanda. That's a great question to ask yourself. I'm asking it more and more. I haven't taken a proper photograph in over two weeks, but it's felt good in many ways to not force the act. Maybe it's a way to defy the artificial light?
That's a great photo collection. I know sodium vapor had plenty of critics, too. But I do miss that orange light!
I don't mind the technology of LED. But I do seriously wish they would have calibrated the lights to be warmer and less bright. Here in Baltimore they are slowly, slowly adding shades to the LED lamps to redirect the brightness... still doesn't do my aging eyes any good.
The move towards uniformity is ripe for a punk revival where authenticity reigns supreme.
I well and truly hope so. We really need third wave punk to save us all.
Love this and the eeriness with which I feel like I'm reading the journal from 1984. God. Has time truly gone by so fast?
It does feel a bit bleak. I also re-visited the song "That Funny Feeling" by Bo Burnham (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObOqq1knVxs). It evokes a similar feeling that I get when I think about the performative nature of social media...
Thank you for this. Light is everything. The vaguer the better.
Yes, what is life without a little mystery?
This was such a great read, incredibly well written and on point. Also that song was so good. I’d only ever heard of Rainer Maria, so I’ll be listening to that album today.
Thank you. Yes, it's one of my favorite Rainer Maria songs. I'm a huge fan of their 1999 album, 'Look Now, Look Again.' That's probably their best work, in my opinion. Worth the listen for sure, especially the song "Planetary."
On it!
As I'm not a night photographer I hadn't thought of night shots in these terms of the type of street lights but I have to agree that the sodium light is so much more atmospheric...I do wonder why with the LED lights they don't use the warm ones to soften the light the effect. I was quite shocked to read that about Capture Ones capability to copy another persons image settings for your own work - where's the creativity in that!
Exactly! Just turn the temperature warmer, put a shade on the top to redirect the light down, and I wouldn't have near as much problem with them as I do.
This essay is gorgeous, and puts to words what I've been feeling as of late. I've taken a few steps away from my photography as art, being firmly rooted in my high volume school portrait jobs this month. Any time I start to think about creating art, I feel lost in this question "Am I doing this because I want to be understood, or am I doing it to get noticed?" It's a question that can produce icky feelings, depending on the answer. If no clear answer produces itself, I'm staying quiet. And, I feel like I've been reeeeeal quiet on my art and writing front.
I don't want to think the lightbulbs in my brain are all going LED. So, I'm choosing to allow for darkness until I get the right jolt. Thanks for the thoughtful, and as always, novel reminder, wrapped in a true but hopeful melancholy, with a dash of nostalgia.
Thank you, Amanda. That's a great question to ask yourself. I'm asking it more and more. I haven't taken a proper photograph in over two weeks, but it's felt good in many ways to not force the act. Maybe it's a way to defy the artificial light?
So sad to see LED lighting everywhere. There are still a few sodium left here, very few, that a friend is documenting: https://www.julielaing.com/julielaing-lowsodium-streetlights
That's a great photo collection. I know sodium vapor had plenty of critics, too. But I do miss that orange light!
I don't mind the technology of LED. But I do seriously wish they would have calibrated the lights to be warmer and less bright. Here in Baltimore they are slowly, slowly adding shades to the LED lamps to redirect the brightness... still doesn't do my aging eyes any good.