Weekly Photo Challenge: Light Adventures…
“The difficulties you meet will resolve themselves as you advance. Proceed, and light will dawn, and shine with increasing clearness on your path.” Jim Rohn
Weekly Photo Challenge: Light Adventures... Eglise Saint Etienne Le Veiux
Weekly Photo Challenge: Light Adventures... Light Glass House Studio Seattle
Lighting spaces is considered a highly specialized skill and, like a well designed gadget, great lighting is seamless. We appreciate it but we don’t focus on its presence because it seems perfectly natural to the setting it enhances. I’m not a lighting expert but I have friends who are and when they talk about their lighting projects, their eyes light up… no pun intended. Have you walked into a room and felt warm and enrobed in a wonderful glow? And let’s think about the theater, and sets for movies and TV, all need expert lighting, right? Great lighting makes a space come alive and everything in and around it simply shimmers.
As you can tell, I loved this Daily Post Light exercise and had a hard time trimming my photo choices. Each picture I selected had its own particular light perspective. In terms of the light shown, some pictures I chose were pretty obvious while others were inferred… Maybe not. You be the judge. The picture of Église Saint Étienne Le Vieux above was taken on an evening stroll in Caen, France. I took several shots because the first few were blurry. I was glad when this one captured what I was looking at.
The Glass House Studio in Seattle shot didn’t do the space justice. It truly was a special light filled studio with a kaleidoscope of glass and lights reflecting off everything. I took several shots with flash and then without flash, and concluded I needed a better camera. What do you think? 🙂
“There is not enough darkness in the entire world to put out the light of even one small candle” Robert Alden
Weekly Photo Challenge: Light Adventures... Hallway in Chelsea Market, NY
Weekly Photo Challenge: Light Adventures... Tea Salon at the Chelsea Market
The Chelsea Market is a fantastic place to visit in downtown NY. It is an indoor fiesta of stores filled with all kinds of goodies… food, wine, gourmet treats and more. The lighting is brilliant and everywhere you turn in that space, you are greeted by a new set of great lights. The first shot is a hallway picture and it curves around revealing new eye catching wares.
The Tea Salon is a gorgeous space where you can consult on all manner of exotic teas and taste some too. The lighting in the salon is fantastic and the genius behind it is how light is used to make the space appear larger.
What I love about the Chelsea Market, aside from its terrific selection of foods, is the attention paid to aesthetics. Every corner, every store, including the elevators has an artistic flair; adding a unique signature to the space. There is an indoor waterfall too and, for a moment, you feel like you have entered a world somewhere else; Morocco, Firenze, anywhere but here in NY. Come back later for more on my light adventures. Updated! 8)
“To rid ourselves of our shadows – who we are – we must step into either total light or total darkness” Jeremy Preston Johnson
Weekly Photo Challenge: Light Adventures... Lone open restaurant in Gare de Lyon area, Paris
Weekly Photo Challenge: Light Adventures... Lit Up Traffic Cop in shopping center, Stockholm
Paris is the city of lights and everywhere you turn, lights greet you. I like this shot because it was a lone open restaurant on a late night, near the Gare de Lyon area. I believe it was a Sunday night and as I turned the corner, the restaurant lit up the street which was almost empty of people, and lined with shuttered stores and restaurants. When I got to the restaurant, it was relatively empty; a few lingering tourists, some locals, and a hand full of young revelers. I was quite amused to see that they served…. pizza!
Stockholm in the fall is beautiful and as Xmas approaches, the city glows. My friend, Lotta, and I took a walk, rather long walk, to this shopping center on the evening I arrived. (We met in college and stayed friends over the years as we raised families and changed jobs.) She wanted to make sure I didn’t miss any good deals as the sales were in full swing. I turned and noticed that the cop’s uniform was glowing. It made perfect sense to wear clothing with light reflectors as it made it easy for everyone to see him and mosey on.
“There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.” Edith Wharton
“Some people change their ways when they see the light; others when they feel the heat” Caroline Schoeder
Weekly Photo Challenge: Light Adventures... View from the base of the spiral staircase at Cooper Union's new academic building, NY
Weekly Photo Challenge: Light Adventures... Interior of Pike Place Market, Seattle
Cooper Union’s new academic building is a magnificent structure to behold. It’s a contemporary building with an intricate, even bold interior and exterior architectural design. I took a tour of the building with a group last year and was quite impressed by it all. The picture you see is of the famous stairway/case that spirals and narrows as you get further upstairs. So when you look up from the ground/main floor, you see the view above; with light beaming at you. It’s worth a visit.
Pike Place Market in Seattle is dear to my heart. The activity and selection of foods there are as exciting as the interior space. I love it as much as I love Chelsea Market even though the vibe is somewhat different. There is an ease of movement at that market and the sellers welcome you warmly. Do you see a trend here with me and food spaces? I hope you enjoyed my light adventures and traveled with me to each place. 😉
What are your memories of these places? What about your travels? What are your light escapades and memories? What are your thoughts? Do share? 🙂
Positive Motivation Tip: Take the path of light and embrace wherever it leads you… there is much to learn.
PHOTO CREDITS/ATTRIBUTIONS: All Photos of Eglise Saint Etienne Le Veiux, Glass House Studio Seattle, Chelsea Market, Tea Salon at the Chelsea Market,restaurant in Gare de Lyon area, Paris,Traffic Cop in shopping center, Stockholm, spiral staircase at Cooper Union, and Pike Place Market, Seattle from my personal collection.
Until Next Time…
Ask. Believe. Receive. ©
Elizabeth Obih-Frank
Mirth and Motivation
Positive Kismet
Wow…looks like you have been tons of places! Really cool post!
I love the layers of light in the Chelsea Market Hallway!
I like the NY display with the light the most.
Elizabeth, this is a wonderful collection of great photos showing the magic and warmth of the lighting in different situations.
I just love coming here. You have the most wonderful, uplifting and fun posts! You are quite the world traveler which, of course, leaves me wondering so many things about you! Someday, you will have to take questions from your followers so we can learn more about you.
I love the tea salon lights -they are beautiful. When I think of lighting, the first thing that comes to my mind is the type of lighting depicted in your first photo- that of outdoor lighting on a building and outdoor grounds at night. I love seeing outdoor landscape lighting. It is so beautiful.
Thanks for a lovely post to end my evening, Elizabeth! Very fun!
the spiral staircase at Cooper Union’s new academic building, NY, are an interesting construction – and a great metaphor for that spiral we want to climb up in our life …
My favourite is the chelsea tea room…the lights are impressive almost domianting yet the light they give off is not overpowering 🙂
As for lighting…I am always amazed by the lighting visual effects on stage, all the different colours and how they can change the mood…
PiP
wow! those are all amazing photos! makes me want to travel the world!!
I’ve seen several blogs highlighting this topic. It’s interesting to see what types of light photos people are posting.
I have not been to Chelsea Market, but now it seems I have to go considering I live right across the bridge. I have been to Pikes Place which is really fun!
Nice! I love the architecture in Cooper Union. As an event planner I know the importance of lighting. When you transform a space for an event you have to show people where to look and the easiest way is with the right lighting. Nothing sets a mood like good lighting.
Good post! Thanks.
Great pictures! Especially the Chelsea Market looks like a place I’d like (the tea room mostly) Thanks for sharing this!
Beautiful post and pics, Eliz! Loved it.
Elizabeth–
I grew up just across the lake from Seattle and have many fond memories of spending lots of time at Pike Place. Strolling, wandering, running, exploring…
what a treasure…
Now, it’s over $4 an hour to park in downtown Seattle…it makes it hard to consider going for a jaunt…which is sad.
I LOVE light…I love The Light…thanks for sharing your thoughts and pictures…nice stroll down memory lane.
blessings
jane
Wow! Great photos! Fun place to visit! 🙂
Each picture captures something special about lighting and your accompanying stories set the tone.
These are beautiful and the moments you shared are a reminder of the power of photography to capture our memories of spaces forever.
I love this post and pictures. Cooper Union shot was fascinating and complex.
B
Nice post! Caroline Schoeder had it right!
Great photos, E! And I love what you said about great lighting being seamless! The lighting just in one’s own home has so many options; a floor lamp vs. a ceiling lamp, lighting your artwork just right, fabulous chandeliers vs. box lights… the list goes on and on…
oh–and you might like this post from a wonderful writer I am just getting to know…
http://zonapellucida.wordpress.com/2011/04/06/thrift-score-wednesdays-shine-a-light/
blessings
jane
The first quote goes splendidly with the first photo taken in France–lovely. And those lights in the Tea Salon–how cool is that? Light, for me, is not to have curtains–not very exciting, huh?
Beautiful photos, as usual Eliz; your post is very inspirational and creative. Makes me want to travel the world, maybe one day I will ! 🙂
Fantastic photos! I absolutely love admiring the lighting wherever I go.. (I majored in theatrical lighting design actually!) so I can’t help but look at lighting everywhere. I forgot that Paris was known as the city of lights actually.. because that is the #1 place I would love to visit one day.. 🙂
I’m beginning to look at the lighting options for our master bedroom – it’s amazing how complex the choices are!
I love your photos! And I love the sayings you’ve included too. They add depth and more story to your photos.
I love your photos, especially the ones of Chelsea Market. I was there last fall and you certainly capture its beauty and ambience!