North & South
January 16, 2012 § 1 Comment
Since Friday, I’ve been enjoying a rare event in these parts of the world: winter weather, clear skies and uninterrupted sun. The air is still and frosty but not so cold that it hurts your face if you stay out for more than a few minutes. I regard it as a serious cause of celebration among a couple of others…
To my photographic self, however, it’s the light that touches me the most. There’s a tone and quality to it that you only get in the North. (Well, after all when you come from Greece, this is the North!!! Eskimos would probably argue differently but hey! it’s all relative in life!) Over here, the sun never gets a chance to rise too high in the sky and stays low on the horizon. The world is lit by oblique, almost horizontal, rays that make you feel in the middle of a set, blinded by incredibly powerful studio lights at your disposal to sculpt the landscape and everything that’s in it. The start and end of the day are particularly photogenic. Banal objects, everyday scenes and activities are magically transformed into works of art ready to be captured by those who see them. Beauty to be found everywhere if you know how to look and how to make it stand out.
Black & white seems to be made for this setup. It’s by admiring some exceptional black & white work in the last few months that I started to truly appreciate the expressive power of seeing the world in monochrome. Colour has always been an obsession of mine and will remain so but black & white is catching up fast! And so it is, camera in hand, that the light of these days has provided some consolation and has gone someway to soothe the longing for then warmth awaiting in the South…
The plain of Urris, Co Donegal, Ireland
Battersea Park, London
Battersea Park, London
Nikos Liapis 
Well said – love those times of day for shooting (as do all photo/cinematographers).