“PHOTOGRAPH LIGHT”

This month the assignment is looking for a single powerful photograph and is set by fine art photographer Tim Booth. This assignment was set initially in episode #371.

THE ASSIGNMENT BRIEF

From Tim: “I don’t want photographers to go off and photograph anything in particular, what I want them to try and photograph is the single most important thing in photography, without which we would have no photography. I want people to go and photograph…. light. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a lightbulb or natural light falling on something, just focus on the light before anything else, and try and make the light the photograph.”

HOW TO ENTER

Send your entries to stories@photowalk.show, pictures should be 2,500 pixels wide if possible. Feel free to provide text too, to support the feeling or mechanics behind the picture.

Entries are shown below and good luck!

Neale

HELEN FENNELL: flask winner for MARCH

Attached is a shot for the Tim Booth assignment, which made me pick up my camera again. I took it in my office, after weeks of rain, wind, and stormy weather the sun came out and made these beautiful shapes on the cupboard though the blinds. I couldn’t help but capture it. It made me remember that there are shots everywhere, not just on big photography adventures. See more of Helen’s work.

SIMON BLAKESLEY

Greetings once again from Yukon-land in northern Canada. I hope all’s well and that spring is finally making its presence fully apparent. Still a foot or more of snow in these parts, but hope always springs eternal. I was intrigued by Tim Booth’s assignment on light. Challenge readily accepted but I really had to think on this one, hence taking most of the month to submit! I reflected long and hard upon my aviation photography and where the light - and not the aircraft itself - that was the central aspect of the shot. I settled on this image, where the jet is producing the light rather than being illuminated by the sun. I did add a “dab” of flash to make the aircraft visible but would suggest that it is the light streaks themselves that really make the image. One frame, a 20 second exposure, and a bit of guesswork as to when to fire the 200 Watt strobe.

MAT BOBBY

Attached are two photos for the March photo assignment. The first photo is from a garage near my home in Longmont Colorado. I made it while I was on a “photo drive” with my four year old daughter. The second photo of the houses was taken after a day of snowboarding near Nederland, Colorado. I was on my way home when I came around a corner and saw the houses lit up by the afternoon sun and instantly thought of the March photo assignment. I pulled over and told my family I’d be right back. I hope you can use them and if you would like to see more of my photographs you can do here on my website or on Instagram.

SCOTT WILKS

2023 so far has been an uphill battle for me in many ways, but discovering your podcast this year has made a substantial impact on my mental growth. I’ve always loved photography, I’ve worked in the industry of sorts for nearly 30 years but I really consider myself a hobbyist at best. I’ve got no social media presence, I’ve never really been able to embrace it. But this month’s assignment by Mr. Booth, really had me thinking. I’ve not been able to consider anything I shoot as destined for any place other than being something for myself and my family, and that has been fine. A little ‘shy to share’ you could say. But this image, was truly off the cuff, and of essentially, just the light. There isn’t really a subject to speak of, the composition is nonexistent, but the light I saw at the moment was, is, magical. Out for a day of shopping with my wife and daughter and just as I turned to see them before getting on the elevator, I was struck. The warmth and glow of the overwhelming orange light of sunset surrounding everything over downtown Los Angeles had to be captured and remembered. Looking back at that day, and this photo, I immediately thought about you and what you are doing for photographers all over the world. I am thankful I found this community, and maybe one day, I’ll feel more comfortable sharing more, but for now, I hope you see what I see… that light.

PER BIRKHAUG

Thought I'd join the assignment. Admittedly somewhat reluctantly, probably due to "our old friend" the Impostor Syndrome. But I thought "How can I go wrong with Tim Booth's assignment?" There's light in every photograph I suppose, so why not give it a go? Enclosed is my entry, a picture of a snowdrift just outside our cabin. I think perhaps I'm a bit more drawn to the contrast part of it, but no contrast without light, right? Anyway, here goes.

VICTORIA ROBB

The light show from the lighting department display Heal's shop window Kingston Upon Thames - the variety of lights and the sculptural elements including of the shades in the window, picking up reflections of the outside and also the shop interior, it revealed different things each time I looked at it.

KYLE ATTWOOD

Over the weekend, I went into Perth City and went for a walk around looking for the light. The image attached was my favourite from the day; I saw the beam of light and the shadows, so I asked my son to stand in the light while I took a ‘posed’ street photography style shot. See more of Kyle’s work on his Instagram.

MICHAEL MIXON

I am fortunate enough to have a nice view off the back of our deck, but as with many things in life, that view has often been relegated to wallpaper - decorating my surroundings but only getting a passing glance, if that. But the other day, after coming home from dropping my son off at school, the wallpaper caught my eye anew because of how the morning light was falling on it. So I stopped and took in what I really should be appreciating daily.

COLIN MAYER

Emerging from the sun light into the darkness of a tunnel, people walk purposefully to get somewhere in a hurry. They don’t seem to notice the curves and creases in the walls and ceilings playing with the sunlight, bending it, reflecting it, dimming it until it spills on the dark floor and disappears into the shadows. See more of Colin’s portfolio on Instagram.

CHARLES LAWSON

This was captured in Lower Antelope Canyon in Page Arizona, USA. They’re probably over-photographed these days, but they are wondrous slot canyons that produce these shafts of light at certain times of the day. The erosion on the walls of the canyon is due to swirling sand and wind rather than water erosion... the passage of time is truly made visible here.

CASEY SISTERSON

This is my entry for Tim Booth’s Photograph Light challenge. Normally I love to get out to downtown locations and photograph the light filtering between the buildings but with it being Winter in Canada I wasn’t eager to freeze my fingertips. Luckily my own house came to the rescue. I’ve a photo on a wall beside a window in my bathroom and the light at this time of year perfectly came through and lit up the photo.
The photo is off an old mooring used for a ferry for a location called Hecla, Manitoba. It was an island where some of the original Icelandic settlers, well, settled. Now it’s a very large provincial park and I just love taking long exposures of the moorings in the waters of Lake Winnipeg. Lake Winnipeg as an aside is the world’s 11th-largest freshwater body of water.
Okay. So the photo is one of 3 from that region that adorn my bathroom walls, and I love how the shadows and light seem to highlight different parts of the image, with the light parts in light and the shadows again in another shadow.
Almost a light-ception (a la inception the move). Light layers? Light strata?

ANDY FISHER

Please find attached my contribution to the assignment set by Tim Booth - this was taken on a XT2 with a 35mm F2 prime, F2.8, 1/2000, ISO 200. The image was made in a local cafe on a lazy Sunday morning and the sun was lancing through the window, creating all kinds of interesting play of light.

CORY HOVLAND

Attached is my submission for the "Light" photo assignment set by Tim Booth. This is my very first time submitting as I am finally caught up with past episodes and am making it just in time! A little background about this photograph of my daughter. My six-year-old daughter is autistic and nearly every day, we have the ritual, "Play animals," in which I lay on the floor and help her sort through over 100 toy animals that she then sets up in a line by species all around our dining room. It is quite the spectacle (and time-consuming)! But she loves it and I love the time spent with her. Each time when we finish, she dances up and down screaming, "WOW! Look at all the animals!" It makes me smile and beam seeing her so happy. Through our sliding door to the back yard, the evening sun shines through and at times streaks across the floor in beautiful rays of light and shadow. I am usually reluctant to photograph this light thinking to myself that it is a bit cliché. But sometimes, it is just right as in the example photographs that I attached for context.
One day as we were going through our animals, Ella sat in a corner of the dining room where a bright beam of sunlight was falling across her face in a beautiful way. I ran to grab my camera to attempt to capture the moment before she moved. As soon as I got down on my knees to frame the shot, she looked over at me with this wonderful, emotive expression that I was just able to capture. This photograph may not qualify for the assignment of "light" as one could argue it might be more about my daughter. But when I took the photo, I thought to myself, "maybe this would work!" So here, after this long drawn-out story, is my first-ever submission to a Photowalk photo assignment.

PAUL JOHNSTON

Luminous Hedge, Early Spring.

DREW BROWN

This was a sunrise shoot at Winnats Pass at Castleton in the Peak District. Neale if you are ever in the area, give me a shout and I’d love to show you this place. There wasn’t actually a sunrise and all the photographers had packed up and left. I just sat with a coffee taking in the drama and atmosphere of this place when a sudden lightbeam appeared from a pin hole in the dramatic clouds. I managed to grab a shot and wipe the spilled coffee from my bag.

MIKE MILLER

An image that I came across while walking Downtown Hamilton, Ontario (Canada) while my wife was tending to her father. I loved the texture of the grey brick wall and the harsh shadow that was being projected onto the wall. Minimalist, yet different.

SUSAN LARSSON

We were out on our usual morning walk, here in Washington-land, and looking up through the trees, the sun (something we had not seen for quite some time) was playing hide and seek with the clouds. The striking colors were unusual, and the trees silhouetted - you could not really tell the time of day, but it was quite early in the morning. See more of Susan’s work on VERO.

JON DORSETT

This is a photograph of the rippled surface of a reservoir near to where I live, as dusk approached. The ripples reflected and refracted the setting sun and ambient light into different shades, tones, colours and shapes. It was very peaceful light. See more of Jon’s work on his Instagram.

MARILYN DAVIES

This is my first contribution to the assignment. I have been listening for a while now. and have been tempted on a few occasions to make some photographs for the assignment. However, as light is such an important component in photography, I decided that this time was going to be the time!
I live in the Northern suburbs of Brisbane, Australia, in a suburb called Petrie. The Lake where this shot was taken is about five minutes from home. My husband had told me there was a water ski event on there yesterday, and I committed to taking a few minutes out of my work day to make a few photographs of the skiers. Unfortunately, it was about 1:30 in the afternoon, so adjusting for the light was a big effort as the wave thrown up by the ski tended to reflect too much light and the skier was a little too dark. The picture is titled ‘Leaning into it’.

MICHAEL LASSMANN

Here is my image for the March assignment. First it was those hands that drew me in, and then as I was trying to get the right perspective and framing, there was this ray of light creeping into the lens. How lucky I hadn’t bothered to put on the lens hood that day! I call this image, “There will always be light.”

PAUL FRIDAY

As it happened, I was in West Wales in March and there isn't a lot of light about. Plenty of moisture though, which always makes for a great walk when it's windy.

Picture 1 (above left) was a brief interval of light on the beach between showers. People rush out and partly unzip their cagoules to make the most of it. Picture 2 (above right) was a more typical view, with a local band practising in the church hall of an evening. Hearing some old Pink Floyd numbers when the wind drops is surreal.

Picture 3 was a lighthouse, taken by invisible light. And why not? I'm back in Yorkshire now, so we can take the dog off the lead as there is less risk of him becoming a kite.

KELLY MITCHELL

Light is a great challenge to shoot … there can be a million interpretations of Light. This image was taken at a local park, mid-morning, I had originally been hoping that the end of the pond would be open so I could photograph the ducks and geese but as you can see it was still frozen. One of the first workshops I attended was with a landscape photographer and his very first instruction before we did anything was to, “Go and find the light”. Well, as a new photographer who has spent a tonne of time figuring out her camera, I had absolutely no idea what he meant but did come back with some fun and interesting images and I think that is where the idea for “Pockets of Light” comes from. That assignment has stuck with me for years, (I think that workshop was about 2008), and most times, while I am out and about, those phases sit in the back of my mind. See more of Kelly’s work on her website.

PATRICK SCHOENMAKERS

During a short visit to an old church in a small French town I was looking for some nice photographic opportunities. Only when I was about to exit the church again, I saw how nicely the light from the outside was falling onto this characteristic church door. There was no need to think twice.

RICHARD SMITH

The Loranger Gristmill built in 1832 and originally located in Monroe Michigan and later moved to historic Greenfield Village in Dearborn. When I walked in it was very dark inside and didn’t have a tripod so I set camera at ISO400, f9, 1/200sec. 24mm using a Sony 24-105 f4 lens and rested camera on a railing to take this.

ROBIN CHUN

This image was made at a local retail park in Longwell Green, Bristol. The light can be referenced a few times in the composition... the sun, the spotlight, the window light and the reflected light. I moved my position so as to make the title, bit of a pun, but hey, I like it! See more of Robin’s work on Instagram.

PHIL FERRIS

Photographs above and below from Phil.
Above: We had a rainy walk at Trelissick, a National Trust property near Truro, just over a week ago. Part way around the garden we took shelter in a tiny thatched hut, the mist diffused the light that came through the open doorway and I looked across at my wife. The 35mm equivalent lens I had meant there was enought room to catch her even in the confined space. While it was fairly dim there, I underexposed it a little to only capture the light falling on her skin and meet the assignment's brief.
Below: The weather was mixed and, when clouds flooded the sun, the scene was dull beyond belief, some security fencing, buildings too far away to see properly and a tired wooden gazebo; then the sun broke through and I took this.

ALLARD DE GROOT

Here is my contribution for the March assignment. Also added a photo of the “filter” (right) I used to create this. Had a lot of fun making this photo. Every photo I took made me laugh out loud. Looking forward to the results of the other photowalkers.

MATTHEW HADDOW

I took this picture walking home after work, it was a late January night the light and the air were crisp which I feel aided the picture. My aim was to use the light as a way of guiding the tired commuter home after a busy day.

ANNA HARTMAN-KSYCIŃSKA

I have been waiting for the light for all these long winter months. And, finally, here it is.

ANDREW CROME

I've been looking for light ever since hearing Tim Booth introduce the March assignment, and an opportunity arose to take a shot when my son and daughter were playing next to the window of our living room. I noticed a band of light coming through the half drawn curtains and immediately grabbed my camera paired with my vintage Minolta lens and waited for my daughter to enter the light. I didn't have to wait for long as she moved into the light and looked at her brother lovingly! Don't you love it when a plan comes together?

DOM MCKENZIE

I thought I’d share the attached from a random, nothing, walk around the small side streets dotted around my home. This was a ‘I just need to get out of the house and take some photos’ walk and while the photo is nothing special I do like the way the light has used this somewhat decaying garage as a canvas.

KIERON BEARD

As I was driving home from work on Friday evening when I was witness to a stunning sunset. The sun had dropped behind the Jura mountains and lit up the clouds in a way I've not seen before. I was desperate to pull over and take some photos but there weren't any places to stop. Eventually I found somewhere to pull over and luckily I wasn't too late. As you know I usually shoot in black and white but I couldn't resist this one!

MAURICE WEBSTER

Another month, another assignment. Thankfully they keep me away from the household chores I keep putting off! Tim’s assignment brought to mind the quote below and resulted in this image as I took a coffee break in North Laine, Brighton.
"Light makes photography. Embrace light. Admire it. Love it. But above all, know light. Know it for all you are worth, and you will know the key to photography.” George Eastman

JANE ROBB

I took a few photos this weekend in Harrogate looking directly into the sun. I quite like the effect this creates, blazing out everything else, the source of earthly daylight takes centre stage in a wonderful starry shape. The street light on the left, the touching of the sunlight on the tops of people’s heads and snow covered buildings adds interest and a sense of timelessness to the image.

MARCH 2023: TIM BOOTH