I
think what draws me most to working with candles is the visual
simplicity. Candle light nudes are about as simple as it gets: one light
source and a model. There are some pretty hefty technical
considerations that come with the process, but with experience and
patience, these can be overcome.
Though
the image above is unrecognizable, I would hold it to still be a very
successful portrait, not so much of a person, as of a mood. The
quietness of the pose, combined with the soft drama of the light lends a
very delicate feel to the image. In the actual print, the only sharp
portion of the image is the hair on Cheryl 's forehead, helping to focus
the viewer's attention on her face. In reality, this effect is more by
necessity than by design, as all the images were made with my 4"x5" view
camera, using the 210mm lens wide open at f/5.6 for between 2 and 8
seconds.
4"x5" film |
The
image above draws upon the incredibly black shadows inherent to working
with a single, small light source. The angular decent of Cheryl 's hips
and legs across the image plane divide the image in half, with the
candle in the top balanced by the empty void of the bottom. The slight
detail offered in the transition between light and dark across Cheryl 's
body provides a richness which fills out the image.
4"x5" film |
One
thing I learned during this session was how little a second candle adds
to the images - about 1/3 of the images were made with two candles, and
in every case, the single-candle images were stronger because of their
simplicity.
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