Page 111 - Lighting the Unlightable Volume 1 #1

This session was no different - in fact I was totally en-
gaged emotionally. I had waited ten years to work with

Akira again. The work we had done together "in the early
days" was excellent, and, unfortunately, much of it was
lost as a result of multiple hard drive failures. So, I very

much wanted to recreate a body of work together. I found
working with her fascinating. As Akira and I stood in the

room where we were going to work, I again found myself
fascinated.

Once we walked through the emotional experience we
wanted to create together, I had to begin to work through

the technical and visual issues. As I already noted, the vol-
ume of light was a serious problem. In fact, more complex

than it seemed.
That was only the beginning. I was both fascinated with

and concerned about the objects in the room and the ef-
fects their shadows would have on the emotional expe-

rience of each still image. I also didn't want the viewer's
eye to move away from Akira to one of the many objects
around her. There were other factors to consider as well:

She has long, beautiful, black hair, and like other women
with long hair with whom I have worked, I needed to be

areful about how it reflected light and I wanted to make
sure it didn't obscure her face or the lines of her body.

The fan was also important to the emotional experience.

So was her necklace and earrings. I needed to light them
carefully lest one or the other detract from the expression
on her face and the shape of her eyes. Lastly, there were

countless textures, each reflecting light and adding color
independently of all the others. Bed spread, pillows, the

fine lace of her dress, and even the fan itself had to be
taken into account.

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