Week 10

While on a quick weekend trip to Germany with my family, we were walking around downtown during the midafternoon, and I was taking pictures of all the buildings for my brother who wants to be an architect. After looking through some of the pictures- one really stood out to me as a picture that I wanted to share with the class. I really liked this picture because of the use of shadows. The dark clouds overhead really compliment the dark grey color of the building and it gives everything a sense of distance. However, there is a hint of light coming from the background, and shining on the upper part of the builindg that helps to add some warmth to the darkness surrounding everything else.

Week # 10: Extreme Angles

I took this picture at Wilson Park in Torrance today around 6pm. For the last couple of sundays, I have had rehearsals in a dance room at this park's rec center. Usually the sun is just setting when my rehearsal is over but today, however, I was excited to see that it was still light out because of the day light savings time change. I was also excited because I found something to take a picture of for the last lighting blog. This field is right outside of the dance room. I decided to take a picture of it because I really liked how the sun's extremely low angle makes the not-very-tall tree's shadow cast across the entire field. It was really cool to see how just the angle of the light can make someone's or something's shadow be ten times bigger than their actual size. Also, it is probably hard to see, but I also liked how the shadows of the trees in the back of the picture make a kinda zebra print design on the ground. I am starting to really notice all sorts of real gobos in nature now and it makes me happy.

Today, I took my dog Peanut Butter to the dog beach in Belmont Shore. It was the perfect day for the beach. We were able to spend our trip under clear skies and a bright sun. I made sure to leave around twelve or one in the afternoon to make sure that we could go out when the sun would be at it's highest point. When we got there, I let him off his leash as usual and watched him run straight for the water. As I was watching him splash in around and chase after other dogs, I thought to myself how much the sun played such an important role in the happiness of me and my dog. It really is a life source that gave us the energy we needed to get out of the house and have a good time. Along with the clear skies, the sun's reflection off the water lit up the entire beach with a beautiful blue tinted light that reminded me of what we discussed in class about memory. It reminded me about how we light good memories brighter and better in our heads than the actual light of the event that had taken place. I felt that watching Peanut Butter play at the beach was lit as a memory and that I could not have lit it any better myself if I were trying to recall what the day was like. This picture isn't of Peanut Butter, but it captures the emotion and life of our day.

Week 10 - Creepy and the Unknown

As my last blog of the quarter, I wanted to take the chance to study something that really always intrigued me. As we all know, when we are children, the darkness always feeds our imaginations and can produce some scary images that can really trigger our emotions and make us react in very astounding ways. Unto this day, I am still afraid of the dark. Even in my own house, I will begin to doubt myself and really ask whether what is in the dark is completely known. When the imagination is on fire, our behaviors can change dramatically. In fact, I still lock the door to my room when I go to sleep at night. How can so much tension be produced through darkness? I took this picture because it is somewhat the epitomy of what I am talking about. Many lessons for lighting I have learned from this picture.

First of all, what is amazing is how this picture was taken in broad day light and still managed to produce so much fear in me. The picture was taken at two o'clock in the day. It is probably a safe time of day for most. It is for me. I know for a fact there are people inside my house. Therefore, I am pretty sure nothing is in this dark corner. Still, I am blown away because I am just so frightened by this image. I still think there can be something lurking in the corner waiting to grab me. Even though I know this garage very well, it is still dark enough for me to wonder if there is something in the corner. This really stresses the idea of angling and tension. The angle of the shadows is in the corner of the garage. I can't really see all of the angle, and therefore, I begin to wonder if I am missing something in that corner. Shadow can also really spark our imaginations. This goes for a show as well. If I were to brighten sections on a stage and retain a small sense of shadow in a certain section, I could probably produce fear from my audience since I will get them to wonder what is in that section of the stage. Plus, if I were to add shadow effects around the stage and brighten everything up to a good percentage, just because everything is revealed I am still causing tension because I am keeping the audience in a place that is still borderline mysterious. I am hoping to make a horror show, and I would love to play with shadow effects. I also notice how white colors also add to that terrifying effect. The only colors in the garage seem to be white and black. The white is obviously more revealing. Since the white is not the dominating color but is the most visible, I begin to draw into the borderline mysterious area. I can only see these objects. What else is in the garage... I know what is there but is there something more? Since white is so visible, I can probably really begin to play with brighter colors to reveal a few objects on stage and make the shadow a dominating effect. I can draw the audience in and really get them scared.

Shadows produce so much tension. It just goes to prove how we can create a feelings in the human being that can defy logic. We might logically know there is nothing in the theater that can hurt us, but we have the power to overcome that logic.

Week 10 Blog

I was driving back home a couple of weeks ago from school, when it was still raining, and I noticed how beautiful the weather looked. Normally I'm not a big fan of the rain, but this image I snapped while driving in my car was extraordinary. There is this great contrast between rain and sunlight which is an uncommon sight for me to see.

To me, this photo was a little bit symbolic of life as well. It's that light at the end of the tunnel. The sunlight that came out represents hope in my eyes as it is sort of nature's promise that the rain will soon stop. I thought this was a magnificent image that is so meaningful to my life. It is a reminder that any negativity in my life will never be everlasting.

In addition, I love the shadow the light creates with the trees. It's not a typical picture of a tree, but instead it is outlined and black. I really appreciated this image of light and I hope this photo can inspire others as well.

Ricky Wang

Week #10 - Stay a little bit longer.....

"The distance is too long && the visits are too short"

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This is my love. I took this picture early this morning while we were having breakfast and reading the newspaper (I subscribe to the OC Register like the old soul/nerd I am) before he had to drop me off to my show and then take the long 7 hour drive back to base. As a little backstory, if you remember from my first lighting presentation, I mentioned that he is in the Navy & even before he joined we have been in a long distance relationship from the very start. I realized I haven't seen him longer than a full 2 days since last spring break. Every moment is fleeting... With this in mind, I'll bring you back to why I chose this picture. At first I was upset that the flash didn't turn on which resulted in his picture being more of a silhouette and the morning light can only been seen on some parts of him. The significance of this can be drawn back to my quote I mentioned at the beginning of this blog entry. The visits are short. He comes & goes, vice versa. The silhouette of him signifies just how fleeting these moments are because he is in a sense gone too fast for the sunlight to catch him. He's never around long enough to be lit completely. The small parts of him that are lit are the very small indications that "Robert was here". It's a hard life, but a relationship quote in which mirrors my feelings perfectly is:

"Distance is not for the fearful, it is for the bold. It’s for those who are willing to spend a lot of time alone in exchange for a little time with the one they love. It’s for those who know a good thing when they see it, even if they don’t see it nearly enough…"-Unknown

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It was nice reading all of your blogs (thanks for sharing) and the quarter has been fun. Good luck on finals & have a great Spring Break everybody! Enjoy :)

♥ Darlene

Sunlit Shadows

This is a photograph I took of my sister recently. I love it because it has such defined gorgeous colors that are high lighted by the sun. The sun has this amazing ability to create a vivid , multi-dimensional light that can highlight just as well as it shadows and this art is displayed very well in this photo. I love how well the background is lit up and exposed in contrast to the stark shadows that cover up parts of her face. It creates an allure and this level of mystery that can only be created through this combination of contrasting light and color. Though the background is a lot brighter, the simple fact she is lit in a more multidimensional way gives my sister the center stage of this photo by drawing the eye to her. Part of her face is highlighted by a bright light, while other parts of it are cast in dark shadows. One of the things I have come to appreciate most about sunlight is it's natural ability to create shadows. Though this can be sometimes unfortunate when taking pictures, it has the ability to create so many interesting and unique patters and evoke so many different kinds of feelings.

Source Light in the Real World

I was sitting at my table doing homework and I began to think about what Lonnie had said in class - because of the sun, we're happier when we have our light directing where we are looking at as opposed to the dispersed light of a fluorescent light. I decided to see what this did since I was already pretty miserable doing homework and could use a little more happiness =P. I turned on my table lamp and turned off my room light. This made the light throughout the room a lot softer and friendlier to my eye but when sitting at the table - it was far too bright on its own. It was harsh to my eyes. I then turned the room light back on and noticed that along with the room lamp - this lighting was fantastic to study in. I had the focus on the table from the table lamp but my eyes didn't feel attacked by the strong bulb. I guess this is similar to stage lighting - although we like to see exactly where the source of the light is - we can't use only one light. We have to add a little back light to surround the model, or front light to give more to their face. Although we want the source light to direct us where to go, it will still need help from other lights to give us the complete image.

Week 10: Campus Lighting

Hey everyone. So, I realized this week that I love walking around our campus at night. After I finished with crew last night I was walking from the Little Theatre to the shuttle stop at UTC and I noticed how much beautiful lighting there is on our campus, particularly in the area surrounding the Barclay. I was walking down the steps by the flagpoles and I looked up at the tree in front of me, and its overhanging branches were glowing with a brilliant white light. Since I had just left the Herbert Siguenza Project, it kind of reminded me of the angel (played by Darlene:) and for those of you who are going to see the show you'll understand what I'm refering to) and I couldn't stop staring at it for a moment. At first I couldn't figure out where the source was coming from, but as I looked around, I noticed that there is a white light in the middle of the bushes to the left of the staircase. I suppose it's meant to keep the stairs lit enough so people don't trip when they're walking up and down them at night, but i thought the white light it cast on the trees was beautiful and inspiring.

Also, I love the lights that line the bridge to UTC. On either side of the bridge there are rectangles cut into the cement where lights rest. In front of each light is a set of bars, which casts really cool shadows on the ground. The rest of the light shoots out across the bottom of the bridge and, from the top of the staircase I mentioned earlier, it creates a lovely pathway that really caught my attention. The way the shadow and light alternates almost makes it seem like a staircase itself. I did take a picture but I forgot that I am not at my parent's house with my parent's computer and my laptop doesn't have a slot that I can put my camera's memory card into:/ So unfortunately I can't share it with you. But if you ever walk past the Langson at night, take a peak over at the bridge and you will see what I mean. The lighted pathway it creates is brilliant, yet almost creepy in a sense too. Everything behind it is dark in comparison, and it looks like it suddenly drops off altogether in the back.

Finally, one last thing I noticed. I can't help but stare at the lights at the top of the Barclay each time I pass it. The upper part of the building has washes of purple and green light shining up on its walls and for some reason I just find it beautiful. I've noticed that a lot of buildings in this area use similar lighting on their walls. Just take a look at the restaurants at UTC or at the Spectrum. The architectural lighting in these places all rely on lights placed on the walls that are covered so that they cast a wash of light going up and one going down. As with the buildings at UTC, this creates an hourglass shape on the walls. I think it's interesting how many building use this and it's a really neat effect.

Ok, I just wanted to point out that we don't have to look far to find interesting sources of light; we are surrounded by it at this campus. We just have to look up once in a while so we can really notice what we usually walk right by.

Good luck with finals everyone and have a great Spring Break!!!

Week #10 - Bonfire

Near the beginning of the quarter my friends and I went down to Corona del Mar beach to have a bonfire. But it wasn’t just any bonfire: our friend Tim had been saving Christmas trees in his garage for his annual Christmas Tree Burning Party (I have no idea how this started). It probably isn’t the wisest or safest idea, but I will admit that it was extremely epic, and a lot of fun. Tim is six feet seven inches tall, and the flame went well over his head. As a lighting student, what struck me the most was how the blaze lit everything so much. There were very few lights around the beach, as we were there very late at night. Therefore, our fire was the source of light.

 I love this photo because it really shows how the flame lit our faces and even the sand in a way that created color and extreme intensity. If it were not for the blackness of the sky, this photo might be very irritating to the eyes because of the intense orange and amber colors that the fire created. I think that it is so interesting that everyone in this picture has an amber tint. My blonde hair looks red, and our black and blue sweaters have a red hue to them as well. Additionally, our faces are very washed out. This is an interesting example of why theatre makeup is so necessary for actors when the lights are very intense. Overall, what began as a simple night of a fun activity turned into a lesson in lighting, which was very interesting and exciting for me. 

Week 10: Two Lights

This picture was taken in a cave that is meant to showcase a waterfall. To provide
illumination and ambiance there are two green par lights. These one light reflects
off the water another provides lighting for the steps leading to the exit. These
lights together add a warmth to the space that would otherwise only be lit by
sunlight streaming through water. These lights add another dynamic- a greater visual
appeal- to the area. The light reflecting off the water is particularly mesmerizing.Just looking at the two pictures the difference is clear, where the added light is not as visible and the sunlight is the focus the image is harsh and slightly unpleasant. The image that captures the added light is much warmer and inviting.

Week #10 Main Source of Light

It's funny how you can pass by the same thing everyday and not really notice it at all. I was leaving my apartment (which is on the second floor) and as I was passing by the street entrance of my building I noticed how the light was shining in. I decided to take the stairs instead of the elevator so I could walk through the main entrance. I think my lighting design class has really changed the way I look at lighting because I began to asses the main source of light and the affect it has when is shines through the entrance. It crated a very light shadow and a brighter pathway that went in between the plants and bushes on the side. I began to imagine an outdoor scene and what lights I would use to create this same type of lighting. It's funny how the shape of the entrance and the angle of the sun had created what looked like a natural path for me which I gladly took as I began imagining future scenes I could create with this type of lighting.

Week #10: Function over form? Pfft.

This past weekend my boyfriend and I went to the Griffith Observatory in LA. My boyfriend, an art major, had a photography assignment for a drawing class (figure that one out, right?) so we went late in the evening, around 9pm, when there would be less crowds. I had been once to the Observatory before, in fact, it was one of my boyfriend and I first dates together...Ready? One, two, three: "Awwwwwww". I vividly remembered what it looked like, and was anxious to take my new "lighting design eye" and explore the lighting around the iconic architecture.

We were able to park at the top parking lot adjacent to the observatory. The moment I stepped out of the car and looked towards the building I was immediately taken aback however. It was all dark! The domes were completely black and standing in complete darkness. Now of course in my mind, I remembered this monumental place, with brilliant lighting and grandeur architecture. But there it stood in complete and utter darkness.

"Why arent the lights on!?" I asked.
"What lights?" my boyfriend said.
"On the domes! The beautiful lights!"
"Well...considering it's an OBSERVATORY- putting lights on a giant lens that is meant to look at OUTER SPACE would seem to be a stupid idea, no?"
(My boyfriend is a sarcastic smart-ass at times. And I love it.)

We then got on a rather silly debate on the fact that I thought it was ridiculous that the building wasn't properly lit. "Function over form" he said. The domes main purpose is to, duh, look at the sky. But I was seriously perturbed at the fact that this beautiful building was sitting in the dark.

It was then that I really appreciated architectural lighting. This experience further proves the truth of lighting memories, which I love. But even more so, the realization that it was the lighting of the building that made it seem so epic and amazing was really wonderful. Light plays such an important part of our experiences, sometimes completely subconsciously. Remembering such a fun and memorable new experience with my boyfriend, I had painted a magnificent image in my head of the observatory being lit in almost a Disneyland-esk fashion. Perhaps it was a particularly important night, because normally the front of the building and the giant statue sun dial are uplit with broad and intense strokes of light. But this evening only the front windows glowed, and even the sundial was in the dark. While the back area of the observatory was majestically lit with the uplights- there was something just so anti-climactic at the observatory not being perfectly and beautifully lit from all and every angle.

Function over form? Pfft, I say!

(Not my picture- but a perfect representation of what I saw)

Week 10- Looking Into A Coyfish Pond

One of my favorite things to do, childish and lame as it sounds, is to visit the coyfish pond at Fashion Island. I visited it all the time as a kid, so revisiting it brings back very fond memories. Anyway, I'm with my friends and we are all scouting for seats by the pond. It's always a hunt and it feels like you have to race to beat other people at getting seats. I end up getting lucky and manage to snag a table for everyone close to the water. I'm looking at the fish, transfixed, while my friends chatter about guys, school, clothes, etc...when I notice how one fish would appear and then vanish before my eyes. I soon realize it was how the sun beams hit the fish and went through the water. When the sunlight hit the fish, that's when it revealed the fish and was clearly visible, but when the fish swam into a shadow (coming from a plant nearby) it was concealed and "disappeared." I was fascinated by how the light would seemingly dance upon the ripples in the pond and how they'd glance off the scales of the fish. Plus, it was at the end of the day (my favorite) when the sun glowed a warm, orange color. Everything that the light touched ended up having a warm glow as well, even the fish.

Dancing Waves- Week 8

The other night I was out with a group of my friends in Newport by the ocean and there was little lighting on the ocean besides the moon and stars and the distant lights from the board walk. I wish that I has my camera with me to capture this moment. The waves were making patterns with the lights. The lights were making this glistening shadow over the far side of the ocean and where the waves were crashing the lights would hit the top of the wave, disappear with the wave when it crashed, then wait for the next wave and make the same pattern. I was captivated by how natural lighing combined with the naturalistic elements of the ocean made such a spectacle for my eyes. It was beautiful and reminded my to take the time to appreciate nature and what it has to offer.

Week 8: The power of Color

I have been stressing myself out the past couple of days trying to find interesting lighting to talk about for this blog. Of course, I finally find something to talk about when I wasn't looking for it and it was right under my nose. Last night, while lying in my bed trying to fall asleep, I noticed, as my eyes adjusted to the dark, how the light from the little display screen on my stereo, in stand-by mode, was lighting my room. I realized that the colors and angles of the light were very similar to my second cue that I made in class that day for the Our Town Project. The blue color from the screen was pretty close the color I used for the moonlight in my cue in class. While I was already having a hard time trying to fall asleep that night, I started to picture and pretend that the display screens source of light was the actual moonlight coming through my window, even though my blinds were shut, and slowly but surely I finally started to become more, relax, calm and tired. It is amazing how just the colors in lighting can create moods that have such big effects on people.

Week #8 - Voices in the Shadows

News of the protests going on at UCI is not anything we all haven't heard yet. This protest took place during lunch time on the Ring Mall by the Student Center. The reason I took interest in this picture is the fact that for the most part, the protestors (laying on the ground) are in the shadow of a nearby tree and the onlookers are lit in the sunlight. The significance of this is that in the past these protestors voices & beliefs were (in a sense) in the shadows. They went on with their days unheard, with the public unaware of their opinions.... until now.

Week 8: Tsunami?

So this weekend we had a bit of a tsunami scare. The interesting part to me was the sky and how it changed with the weather. The light changed as well. On Saturday, in the midst of the tsunami advisory, there was rain, lots of rain. The sky was so dark and there was barely any natural sunlight coming through. On Sunday, however, the sky completely changed. In the morning the clouds still obscured the sunlight a bit, but it filtered through and eventually the power of the sun took over and the day became sunny and wonderful.

The sun is such a powerful force of light. Even when there are thick, dark clouds in the sky, it still manages to break through and we are not left in the dark. It's an amazing thing, the power of the sun.

Week 8

It has been mentioned in lecture that Florescent light is unpleasant because it does not have an identifiable single source. The classrooms in Humanities Hall are all lit by florescent light have convinced me that florescent light is quite unpleasant. What was interesting was how much more bearable that light is at lower intensity. During a lecture in Humanities Hall last week one of my professors dimmed the lights to about half power. The room instantly became much more pleasant but why? the ambiguous source of light remains constant only the intensity has increased shouldn't this level of light be more obtrusive than pleasant?

Malibu Week 8

I had been wanting to go hiking for the past few weeks and with my busy schedule and bad weather I hadn't found the time to go. This weekend I drove up to Westlake in the rain and figured I would be spending the weekend watching movies with my friends and sipping hot chocolate since it seemed like the natural thing to do in rainy weather. Well, Sunday came along and so did the sun! I automatically had the urge to go outside and actually be active! It reminded me of the lighting color word association game we did in class and how we associate certain colors with certain feelings, or even how brighter lights go with more energetic and happy feelings. Sunday's sunlight definitely brought out the energy in me. I finally got to go on my hike and even after a long week the warm sunny weather was definitely something to get me through the next week =)

Week #8 - Crazy Lights

I had the opportunity to catch the fireworks at Disneyland this past week, something I usually miss, and there are a lot of interesting shapes and whatnots that the fireworks can produce. I noticed that the of course, the colored ones received the most attention because they were much more engaging. I think it's because people are so familiar with "white light" that they aren't as in awe compared to when they are exposed to colored lights. One aspect during the show that really caught my eye was the glow that the fireworks created in the sky in accordance to the fog. It has a weird hue or tint to it that does not quite read white. I am reminded of a time my roomate and I thought there was an event happening at the Tustin Marketplace. We live in an apartment close by and we saw really bright green lights that were being shone at the marketplace pretty late at night. So, in an attempt to join, we drive over, only to realize that the street lamps and the fog were creating a much brighter light, and a different color as well! How is it that the light is projected (diffused?) so much more by the fog, and that it created a different color as well? That really amazed me. But around the fireworks in the picture, there is a glow that is being created. I am not sure if that is fog or smoke, but either way, it emphasizes the light a lot more.

Week #8: Breaking up the White light

I went back to home-home this past weekend in LA to celebrate my mother's birthday. It's been a good while since I've visited home so the moment i walked into the family room i knew exactly what i wanted to do this weeks lighting blog on. In the photo (on the left) is a picture of one of the windows in the family room. You must be wondering if that window is a design of some sort, or if it is on the verge of shattering. If you guessed broken class, you are correct! If you look at the bottom right hand corner, you can see how there is a B-B shot that causes the entire class to crack.

I am writing about this accident my older caused when he was in high school (about 11 years ago) because i noticed the cracks in the glass shows the prism effect we learned about in class. The sunlight hits the edge of cracked glass and breaks up white light into its components and we see a rainbow-like light. It's funny how i had always noticed this colorful light that the broken glass had created ever since i was young, but since taking this class, i can somewhat explain why it has color. Now i know the reason why my older bro's mistake can be looked at as art, haha. (fyi...this window has been like this for the past 11 years...and hasn't broken apart yet...dayum)

Week 8 - The Gym

What could be another means of light that really stirs me emotionally? I was having a rehearsal for a student project by my pipeline player crew. We had no real rehearsal space unfortunately, so we ended up going to the last place on Earth for rehearsal... The Arc. The Arc is a gym located in Irvine area. When I got there, I realized for once that there is always a specific bright white light in the Arc.... It is a white bright light, but why would that be so?

At first, I thought that it could only be a means for saving money. Then, I began to think how could this white bright light affect my senses and emotions. First, I felt a lot more awake at the gym. I entered the gym, and there was never a moment where I felt sleepy or drowzy. I felt ready to physically move around. Could this be the result of the light? As I have analyzed before, the brighter the light the more profound an effect it has on people. For example, brighter light always makes people more comfortable since it is more revealing. Therefore, maybe people feel better in their own skin at the gym because nothing is unrevealed. They could be feeling more physically comfortable and gaining a boost of energy. They have less fears because of the light whether it is because of their own body or their surroundings. It is a neutral light. There was also a great amount of white light. People are generally more attracted to white light. Could the white light bring out this sense of comfort and energy that prepares people for working out. If we are attracted to white light, could we be having an energy boost because of the power attractivity pushing us physically forward. I mean we always have rushes of energy when we attracted to someone. Again, I would like to stress thatI felt very neutral at the gym as well. I had the ability to focus easily on the physical tasks at hand at the gym. Could it be because of this white and bright light that makes me so aware and comfortable?

As simple as this light is, I really think that light at the gym is purposely made to stimulate us, so that we are ready to work. It is simple and effective, but I just don't think they choose bright white lights for financial reasons.

Week 8: Cool Shadows

So we all know exactly where this was taken and we can probably guess what time it was too. I remember someone telling me that high noon was the most boring time of day as far as lighting goes because it's just a flood of white light from directly above you. I took a picture at this time anyways because I thought the shadows being thrown across the benches are pretty looking. It reminded me of leafy patterns I've seen in shows when the director is going for a natural or forest look. I've probably walked past this hundreds of times and barely noticed the intricate willowy shadows on the ground and benches. The fountain right here is serene in and of itself but I think the shadows covering the benches adds to this feeling. There's a sense of soft coolness from the shadows that gradually fades away towards the white sand farther out from the trees. When I stopped to take this picture it looked inviting in the sunny afternoon.

Week #8 Soarin Over California

So on Friday, I went to California Adventure. The pictures above are from the "Soarin' Over California" attraction. I felt like a super tourist taking random pictures of the ride before it started. Blue was a dominant color used in this room, I wondered why blue was chosen because I don't feel like it is a color that is associated with airports. Never the less, it made the room feel cooler and mystical. It also created a sense of excitement. I felt like the lighting was VERY much related to architectural lighting because of the many spot lights that showcased the features of the room. The pictures aren't a good reflection of the effects the lighting created however. I felt like the lighting enhanced the depth and the hardness of the steel structures. I definitely felt a night vibe from the room.

Also, picture 2 is where the video is projected. It wasn't like any other projection screen in that it was curved like a lens. This immediately made me think of the old fashioned cycloramas that curved across the stage. Much like how the old fashioned cycs were intended to create a sense of vastness, this screen had a similar effect.

~Politeia

Random cute side note: My grandma actually thought we took off, and started praying because she was scared we would fall to our deaths.

View Hopping

Since starting lighting class, I have noticed how much my appreciation for light has changed. I am always finding myself looking up at the sky, examining the sun, watching how the sky changes color throughout the day, taking in the different types of lighting used to light areas- parking garages, street lights, everything. This particular post is not a unique type of lighting, but it is a very meaningful one.

I live in the bay area and the views from my house and around where I live are absolutely breathtaking. There is this one spot that a friend introduced me to that we all like to call "the view". One late night, I wanted to bring my best friend to this place that looks over the entire bay area. Unfortunately, I had no clue how to get there and ended up taking us on a trek around where I live which is now a new tradition that we call "view hopping". We went around looking for different views of the bay and stopped and parked at each one and had long deep talks and took in the beauty. It was such an amazing, wonderful night. Such breathtaking sites at night always seem to be the fuel for great conversation and wonderful memories.

I love watching all the sparking lights twinkle in the distance like little stars stretching out in front of me. It really makes you realize just how many people are out in the world at that moment living life, doing different things. And it gives me an appreciation for where I live and for my home.

Week 8 Blog

This past week during a day off, I decided to go shopping in West Hollywood on Melrose. My favorite store, Marc by Marc Jacobs had this stunning new window front that displayed a captivating image that caught my attention. What I particularly enjoyed about this lighting is that it also lit up part of the store on the inside where everything was dark and neon blue. I felt like I was shopping in the future. It put me in a very strange mood that made the clothing seem greater than it really was just because of the lighting. This enhanced my shopping experience a lot more because I felt like I was shopping at such a unique place with such a unique experience that the average person does not get to experience on an everyday basis. I never realized how important lighting is to a store because it really does make a difference and get to show off the artistic side of the store/owner/designer. Overall, I generally really appreciated this creative use of light because futuristic lighting really appeals to me and I think this was a great example of it!

Ricky

Week 8: A Cloudy Day

Usually, I don't like cloudy, overcast days because they make me sleepy and I feel the need to sleep in all day. But this was a fairly interesting day. I just came from seeing Avatar (ridiculously cool movie by the way) , sat in the back seat of the car and was on my way home. I looked through the window, up at the sky and zoned out. Randomly, I wondered what made it still light out on a cloudy day. I figured because it's overcast there's no sunlight coming through, it's all being blocked, however... I was wrong. Upon further inspection I realized that the sunlight is just filtered more, with the help of the clouds. The sunlight still goes through, but somehow must refract off all the water droplets that make up a cloud, blocking a majority of the light from coming through properly. So I thought that was pretty cool. Especially how above the cloud line it was completely blue, yet below it was encased in shadow and felt depressing and gloomy. But something that I particularly found interesting was the fact that colors (particularly green) seemed to stand out more than usual. It's sort of like going into a garden in the morning, just before the sun pops out, that the colors in the flowers and leaves are the most vibrant. Or when you wear black with a splash of color, the color seems to pop. Maybe colors seem more vibrant because there is such a contrast between the dark and bright, allowing dark colors to accentuate colors.

Shopping "Light"

For the very first time, I went shopping in the fashion district of Los Angeles. I went bridesmaid gown shopping with my aunt and her wedding party. And although I promised myself that I wouldn't spend money on anything other than the dress I needed for the wedding, the plans changed as I found bargain after bargain! After I was done shopping, I noticed that the most money was spent in the stores with soft or dim lighting and that no money was spent in the stores with standard fluoresent lighting. There was something different in the way the jewelry. clothes and shoes were presented in the light. It felt as though the light was able to add value to the clothing in the soft lit stores. I knew that for the most part the stores carried the same quality of clothing but for some reason, I felt that I was getting my money's worth in these dim lit stores. I can't believe that light can have such an affect on my shopping decisions!

Week #8 - Burning Sky

                       Last weekend I was able to spend some time with my best friend in San Diego. I stayed at her home, which is a big, beautiful house on top of a large hill in a suburban area of the city. We were sitting outside on the deck enjoying each other’s company as the sun began to set. At first I didn’t really notice it – we were distracted in deep conversation – but soon enough I couldn’t help but stare in awe at the extremely warm colors that caught my attention. Part of the sky had turned bright red. Not just a pale tint, but a legitimate, fire-engine red, and I was amazed. The photo doesn't quite do it justice: I had never seen the sky look so much like flames before. The beauty of it came from the red dancing and intertwining with other warm colors like yellow and orange. Since these colors were so extreme, and slightly irritating to our eyes, I was glad to have the knowledge about how warm and cool colors compliment each other. While the horizon looked like fire, the rest of the sky above it was still a gorgeous shade of deep blue, with some light purples connecting the pieces. This is easily one of the most beautiful sunsets that I have ever seen, and I was grateful for the wonderful company to share it with.

Week #8: Source vs. Sunbathing

Nothing earth shattering about this post. I came home one afternoon to find my cat, Nebula, sitting on the bottom stair essentially staring at nothing. Laughable at first, because well, my cat is a. awesome, and b. a little weird at times- I didn't think too much of it. It only took .235 seconds later to realize that she was sitting on that stair directly in the sunlight being cast through the window. Obviously cats are known for sunbathing, but I couldn't help but smile at this after all the discussion we have been having in class about humans needing a "source of light". While I'll be the first to admit that I see my precious Nebula as more of a human than a pet, I love the notion that it is all living creatures that strive to have a source of light in their world.

Week 8: Spectrum Lights

So earlier tonight I was feeling a little overwhelmed by everything that is going on in my life right now and I decided I needed to just get away from it all for a few minutes. So I decided to take a little drive on the freeway and I got off at the Irvine Spectrum. Even before I started taking this class, I was drawn to all of the lights surrounding the Spectrum. I get such a calm feeling just walking along, gazing up at the strands of lights connecting the palm trees together, inside the fountains, glowing on the sides of the buildings, basically everywhere you look.





My favorite source of light at the Spectrum is the Ferris Wheel of course. Even before you get off of the freeway, you can see it glowing brilliantly in the distance. I don't know why, but I have always been drawn to such displays of light. It gives me the same sense as being at Disneyland. It is so beautiful and captivating compared to everything else around it, and once I look at it, I can't take my eyes off of it and I can't think of anything else. The flashing colors and the brightness of it all immediately gives me a new energy, excitement, and optimism. In a way it reminds me of the simplistic wonders of life and I feel like a child again, able to let go of my adult responsibilities momentarily. Seeing this was just what I needed tonight; sometimes it's important when you feel yourself getting too wrapped up in life to take a moment to pause and enjoy the beauty of the world around you.

(I did take some good pictures of the lighting at Irvine Spectrum but my computer is refusing to read my camera's SD card, so unfortunately I could not include them in this post. But if you happen to drive by Irvine Center Drive at night, just look up and you will see what I'm talking about! )

WEEK 6 : Iconic Sunset

One my way home from school today I was feeling pretty exhausted and not looking forward to the 6-8 page paper that I have to write for Wednesday among all my other homework. Then I noticed that the sun had just started setting and as it was a pretty cloudless day, the whole sky to the west had every color in the rainbow showing. Also, as I was driving north up the coast on the Pacific Coast Highway, I noticed all the palm trees were in silhouette, and being back lit from the setting sun. This scene made me think of all those iconic California postcards that are supposed to make people think how calm and relaxing it is here. And just by thinking about that, I started to feel a lot calmer, relaxed and actually started to get a little motivated to start on that essay.

Merry Go Round Week 6

Last Saturday I went to the spectrum with a friend to watch a movie and was inspired by the carousel lights. They are simple yellow lights yet they are so captivating to the eye. This is a perfect example of how simple lighting can be used to create an effect on people. The lighting of a carousel is supposed to capture young children's attention. One would think that in order to capture attention of a child, you would need a bunch of colorful lights, but that isnt the case. The carousel is painted in pleanty of captivating colors and the simple lighting creates a perfect picture to entice the eye.

Week 6 - Space Mountain

I put my Disneyland pass to use on Friday and ran around the park for a few hours to relax and have some fun with my friends. I recently read that the Space Mountain ride which seems to go really fast only goes about 8 mph. I went on the ride to try and see for myself how Disney creates this illusion. As you can guess (especially since I’m writing it on this blog) one of the biggest factors is the way Disney uses light in the ride.

The way that Disney gets away with having the ride go a mere 8 mph is the optical illusion that is created by the strings of light that rush by you as you go through. This creates an image of stars rushing by you quickly as the cart speeds through. The trick is, however, that these lights don’t stay still as the cart moves, the lights are moving faster than the cart itself. Add this to the jerky turns and the really hard air blowing against the riders and you get a ride that many people think goes 60 mph!

Week 4 - Vibe

I had the pleasure of watching the Vibe Hip Hop Dance Competition at the Bren earlier. It was a pretty awesome show but I must say I was disappointed in the lighting. First things first – the lighting was not done by professionals. The lighting was done by the show’s DJs and they tried to make things look flashy but definitely failed.

They had two projectors on either side of the stage to give people a better view of what was on stage. Fortunately for me I came early and already had good seats. Unfortunately for those who would have needed the projectors, the DJs placed the projectors next to the stage so they were pretty much useless to those who already had a bad view. Now with something as emotionally driven as dance, I think lighting designers have a ton to play with here. Unfortunately, the DJs dropped the ball by going with the same attempt at starting the dances in an “epic” fashion. They would start the lights a few seconds after the music had started and always with this slow fade into green light. The problem with this was they would often miss some opening moves as they waited for the light to fade in. Also, they went with a lot of lower front light which created a lot of shadow on the dancers faces. Luckily the lighting didn’t ruin the amazing dancing going on stage. I just wish I could have had better things to say about the lighting.

Week 2 - Irvine Spectrum

(Sorry these are old posts everyone, I was having issues with posting on the blog and just figured it out now.)

My roommates were craving some fake Mexican food so they convinced me to head over to Chipotle with them. I figured while I ate white rice in my "burrito" I'd be able to take a look at some of the lighting around the Spectrum. What struck me as I looked at the lighting all around was the different strategies in which the restaurants around me took in lighting their logo. The Chipotle logo was lit from the back to create a sort of glowing aura around it. The Johnny Rockets logo went with a more retro feel by using neon signs and a harsh cursive font. The Dave and Buster's logo went with a large imposing circular light that lit the entire logo as opposed to lighting parts of the logo. It was interesting to see what each company was going for with the way they would light their own signs.

Week 6: Sun & Snow!

This weekend, I went up to Lake Arrowhead for my first ever trip to see snow! It was magical. One thing I noticed about the snow was how the sun played off it. Since it is the end of the season, the sun was out and shining throughout the weekend. As anyone who has been to snow can say, it is very bright. It's white! And when the bright completely white light of the sun bounces off the very bright white snow, it can hurt your eyes. I felt like I was in a magical sunny winter wonderland.

After spending the day in the snow, I came to truly appreciate a new kind of natural light I've never experienced before. It was nature working with nature and creating something beautiful. You definitely needed sunglasses to avoid blindness :), but it was so gorgeous to watch the rays of sun bounces and glittering off the snow. I can't wait to go to the snow again!!

Emily Schwartz

Weak Six- Lion Tree

I do not have a photograph for this particular image, because I did not have a camera on me at the time, but it was so striking I had to discuss it. As I was walking home from the gym last week on my usual route, I happened to look up into the sky. I am not sure if I was particularly looking out for interesting light patterns or images, but perhaps I was for, ever since beginning this lighting blog, I seem to be more likely to look out for these kinds of things.

As I was walking the sun was just starting to set in the sky, so its positioning was not quite overhead but somewhere far ahead, beginning to lower itself. Ahead of me where also several trees and I was watching the sun through the trees as I walked. When I got to one particular angle, I could see the sun positioned just perfectly, shining through an almost perfect circular whole among the tree branches. The effect was phenomenal. The tree branches and leaves looked like a lions mane around the golden sun as the yellow rays combined with the green leaves. I paused there for a bit and just watched, enjoying the image, and trying to memorize it before continuing on my journey home.

Week #6 - Disneyland Optical Illusion

I got the opportunity to go to Disneyland again this weekend, and as the quarter progresses I have been more and more observant in terms of lighting. I am incredibly impressed with Disney and the way that they create such a happy feeling just through the lighting throughout the park. One lighting trick that particularly caught my eye was on a large display on Main Street as we were exiting the park. There was enormous display of plastic, replica balloons coming out of an over-sized envelope with a card protruding saying a much more eloquent and clever version of “thanks for coming.”

            What was so exciting about these balloons at night was that light was being projected on them in such a way that made it look like they were not only real, but actually floating. It is hard to tell from this picture since you can’t see the light moving, but somehow shapes of squiggly lines were moving around on the plastic, and rotating to create the illusion that the balloons were being moved around by the wind, floating up and down and back and forth. I looked around and tried to figure out where the lighting fixtures were, but I did not see them. I am incredibly intrigued as to how they achieved this illusion, and managed to conceal the lights that created this illusion. I would guess that it had something to do with rotating lights and maybe some gobos, but I am not positive as to how this worked. I would like to learn. Regardless, I was so impressed that light could create such an exciting and interesting optical illusion.  

Week 6: Less is More

Week 6: Less is More

I have to admit I’m a little flustered and frustrated right now because I wrote my whole blog for this week, submitted it, and my browser crashed. So here is round two on describing a lighting experience I had last night in a bar…

Before I start, the first two pictures of the space from the website, the other two were taken from my phone. The bar was much more dimly lit than the first two photos, but brighter than the ones I took with my phone. Despite being darker, I found the bar to be inviting. Something I noticed was how light divided the space. The pool table was the most brightly lit area. Above it was a crystal chandelier and few, but bright, recessed lights. This helped with making this area a focal point of the room. I felt like this was kind of related to theatrical lighting in the sense of scenic lighting elements. For example, a table lap would be on stage, and additional lighting would be used to support and illustrate the light that came from the lamp. The actual bar area was covered in tea lights, even in the booze shelves. Light from the tea candles glimmered and highlighted the various shapes, sizes and colors of the bottles. This made the alcohol that much more alluring. I liked the way the candle light lit the faces of the patrons who sat at the bar. The lights above the bar had had pink and purple gels in them in celebration of valentines. The booths were lit with wall lights that had c-type lights that we saw in class and pinkish/purplish/reddish lights that came from the tops of the booths. The light that came from the tops of the booths had a beautiful effect on the red velvet wall paper. With a little investigation, I found that there were your typical Christmas tree lights in the pit covered with frosted glass. I thought picture 4 was super cool. I think it looks like a microscopic view of a blood vessel. This also brings up another thing. Looking at it reminded me of a cyclorama in that you have the freedom to play with color and create shadows.

This lighting observation reminds me of how I love source lighting. Because it was dimly lit as well, it was interesting for the eyes to see the shadowing and highlighting effects that resulted. And of course, thanks to the dim lighting, the crowd was that much more attractive… well, that and a few drinks in my system! HAHA. I feel like I’ve skipped and forgotten some points I wrote about first time around, but I hope you feel like you had a taste of the experience.

Happy lightings,
Politeia

Week 6 - Vegas

I really wanted to take this opportunity to talk about Vegas in which lights are prevalent. Vegas is designed to be able to make a man or woman feel as if this is the place where opportunities to win are high. I recently went to Vegas, and I must say that one element of Vegas that uses a wide range of colors and lights is the slot machine.
I remember staying at Caesar's palace with my pal, and we took the opportunity to walk around Vegas and really look around at the variety of different lights inside and outside of the hotel. The most attractive and flashy spectacles were the slot machines. The slot machines used a variety of red, silver, and gold colors. Even if they used darker colors, the slot machines found a way to retain a shine that really brought an eye catching appeal to the slot machine. A slot machine could never be passed unnoticed in other words. I also noticed that the slot machines were always using quick fade in and out times to really catch my attention. The slot machines seemed as if they were screaming for my attention; they, however, were not obnoxious. These flashing lights and colors were coupled with music and sounds that were repetitive but were not annoying to hear. Even fade in and outs were not annoying. It was as if the slot machine was screaming for attention but with a great appeal. I am not a gambler, but I could not help but approach the slot machines knowing that there is that slight possible of winning.
I also noticed how focus seems to be one of the biggest factors in lighting. It's not that the lights are trying to make someone do something specific but are trying to focus this person on a specific element. Therefore, you begin to feel some sort of emotion because of what you are focusing on. At least, this is my impression. I am making this assumption while referencing a book that I have read on acting. It is called improvisation technique for the stage. The concept introduced by this book is that if we focus on a particular aspect on the stage such as what a person is saying, what we are thinking, or what we are doing we can begin to respond to our feelings versus our intellect. It's this focus that creates a spontaneous actor. Hence, if you had a dark theater with two lights, you have an audience who will respond emotionally to the lights, the primary foci. Therefore, it's the lighting focus that creates a responsive audience.

Week #6 Memories of Christmas

Last Christmas, I was in Murrieta at my cousin's house for Christmas and their neighbors house across the street was lit like this. I thought that it was so simple, yet so pretty at the same time. They didn't light the house using traditional christmas lights but instead had green, red and yellow light bulbs that were set at an angle to create this beautiful glow. The christmas trees that peak through the windows add a final touch to this picture. I thought this was really artistic and unique and it stood out to me, more than the other houses covered in lights and decorations of every shape and size. This is a prime example of how a few lights can create such a stimulating visual to the eye.

Week 6 - San Francisco

This 3-day weekend, I visited my hometown in San Francisco. As I went out on Friday evening, I re-fell in love with this city and all it had to offer because of the people, atmosphere, and surprisingly, the lighting. I absolutely love big city lights because it gives me this rush of momentum that energizes and inspires me. I enjoy walking around any city with lights like this because it is so lively and reminiscent of my childhood when I would be out with my family. This photo was taken in the Castro district of San Francisco, which is another reason why I took this picture. Being a member of the LGBT community, this feels like home to me. The people here are always nice, friendly, and gay (no pun intended). This is very inspiring to me for some reason because it makes me want to conquer so much and I absolutely love this lighting!

p.s. Sliders Burgers in this picture was first family owned by my dad and uncles and is located throughout the city!

Week #6: Sunlight=Source

While i was taking a walk near my apartment, i walked over the bridge on the street Coronado (right near Harvard and Main). I had never walked over the bridge because on the opposite side of it are buildings for businesses. There really is no reason for me to go across, but i did anyways. It's Valentines day and i celebrate singles awareness so i had nothing better to do, haha. As i walked over, i noticed how the flooding from downpour of rain we had from the past week died down and left some crazy patterns at the bottom of the creek. The lighting from the sun casted great shadows that added form and shape to the muddy sand. I thought the shadowing gave it a "lumpy" feel if i were to imagine myself walking on this ground. Imagine all those nasty creepy crawlers that live in the mud, ewww.

Something else i took notice of was the idea of source. In this case, the sun is probably the main source of light, haha. This may be an obvious statement, but in one of the shots i had taken, the sun is best described as the source because you can see the reflections of the sun in the water.
It was quite captivating to see because the rays of sun glimmered, making the water's movement from the light wind clearly visible. Also, looking at the contrast in brightness from the sun's reflection to the muddy sand drew my attention to the sun as if it was a spotlight.... Now that i think about the sun as Earth's only source of natural light, it really is similar to the spotlight that shines on a character to capture an audiences attention.

Week 6

Driving on the 405 at 5 in the morning gives a very extreme view of light. Polar
opposites dominate the view as the headlights of cars contrast against
the blackness of night. The most severe contrast occurs when driving
in the carpool lane with the lights of five lanes of traffic blinding
you. A greater appreciated is found for more precise beams of light.
Light in this case became debilitating, it became difficult to drive
because of the harsh light of the South bound traffic.

Week 6: How many lights does it take to completely change the color of my bedroom?

When I was cleaning my room today I realized I have a lot of different lighting options and when you put them all together in a certain way they do fun things. For starters I have a lamp on both my dresser by the door (bottom pic) and on my bedside table (1st pic). The tall lamp hanging out by my closet (2nd pic but you can also see the light from it on the other closet door in the 1st) is cool because two of the five bulbs sticking out are pink and give off a slightly pinkish light in the general direction of my desk. Above my bed wrapped around the curtain rode is a rope-like purple thing that lights up but for the most part it's just decorative. It's kind of like a strand of Christmas lights; it's pretty to look at but for the most part it's rather useless as it doesn't emit much light. I also have a black light over my bed above the cork board and various glow-in-the-dark galaxies painted onto my ceiling and empty wall space. Perhaps I will talk about what my room can look like in the evening for my next blog.

But anyways, the particularly fun lighting source is the sunlight coming through the sheer lilac purple curtains I got for Christmas and just now decided to put up. With nothing else turned on, the light coming in is a soft purple with a small hint of light blue. I think it's interesting to see how this wash coming in through the window blends with the two small lamps and the one that gives off pink over by my desk. In the 2nd pic you can see the white-ish light going into the closet, the pink going onto my desk, and the purple hitting the wall from the window directly across.

We've been talking about "sense of source" lately and I'm not really sure where The Source is in my room. I feel like each fixture lights up its own respective area quite nicely depending on where I am in my room. (The Source used to be the ceiling light but I've stopped using it ever since I lost the remote thing to turn it on/off and I'm too short to reach the pull strand). Having all the lights on all the time isn't necessary and often I will only use whichever light I need depending on where I am, if I'm by my closet/desk, the bed, or the dresser.

Week 6: Airport

So, last weekend I went to competition with my Indian dance team at Penn State. We flew out late Thursday night and had a layover very early Friday morning in Detroit. As we were walking through the airport with our luggage in hand, walking along one of those flat escalator things (I don't know what to actually call it), I realized that there was this light show going on all around us. We were in a sort of tunnel and on both sides of us, the walls had these long panels that were filled with colored light. At first I thought it was just lit as I first saw it, in the blues and pale greens, and it gave me a slight sense of being underwater, or walking past an aquarium. However, as we walked, I realized that the lights were changing color. The blue and green would rapidly change to a bright red, back to blue, then quickly back to red, and it was almost like a pulsating heart. The lights cast a colorful glow on the ceiling above as well, and the entire tunnel was brilliant. Now, it could have been the fact that I had just pulled an all- nighter on the plane, or that I am easily amused, but I thought this was amazing to see. I also thought it was a bit weird that this much time and money was spent creating this lighting show in a tunnel in an airport, but I'm not complaining. Unfortunately, I had left my memory card for my camera behind on accident so I had to ask a team mate to record this video for me. She didn't want to use up much of her memory, so I only captured a few short seconds of what I saw, but hopefully you get the point.

Besides this, while I was on the next plane, half asleep, my attention was drawn to the window as I saw a flash of light. It seemed like there was another mini light show going on on the wing of the plane. The front of the wing would first have quick flashes of white light, almost like a strobe effect, and this would be followed by a big wash of red light on top of the wing. These lights just kept alternating back and forth, and of course I couldn't help but watch for a minute before falling back asleep. Finally, my favorite part of flying on a plane at night is being able to look down at the cities below. It is filled with such dazzling lights, and I always find it breathtaking. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take pictures of either of these things to show you, but I will always remember what they were like. I guess the point of this blog is that I never realized how much lighting you can be exposed to while simply catching a flight.

Week #6 - Morning spotlight

It's a quiet Saturday morning at my parents house (I drive down to visit on weekends). I've been awake since 8am and it baffles me why I wake up so early on days that I can sleep in. It doesn't bother me too much because I enjoy the mornings and not wasting my day away sleeping.

I got myself comfortable on the couch as I reached for my Nicholas Sparks book and helped myself to some milk and cookies. After reading for a little while, I noticed that little spots of light had shifted onto my book. The blinds in the family room are closed, but that didn't stop light from peeping in through the holes that the string goes through to hold the blinds together. I thought this was pretty interesting because there were little mini spotlights on my book! :) I thought it was cute and ended up playing with the light by moving my book around a bit to "spotlight" certain words. The little circles of light were dancing beautifully on the pages of my book.

P.S. Happy (early) Valentines Day everyone! ♥