Page 37 - NyghtVision Magazine Volume 4 #2

photo of that marker I had taken last fall. I had just moved it into the new application I installed
on the Cintiq. I would be using the Cintiq instead of a white board when I taught. As is usually
the case, it had been a long day and it was well after midnyght. I added that photo to the docu-
ment and it just looked different. I told myself I was just tired and needed to get to sleep.
When I got to Savannah and took the students to the cemetery where that marker is lo-
cated, of course, I was going to illustrate how to create an emotionally powerful image using the
Circle of Confusion. I was completely unprepared for what happened - I looked at the marker
and I realized that something had happened. I did see it differently.
Francois: And somehow that changed how you understood how light works?
Falcon: Yes. If you are looking for a logical response you will be waiting a long time.
Francois: So what really happened?
Falcon: Well, for the first time I saw what was right before my eyes the whole time - the transition
from the Circle of Confusion to what was in Depth of Field wasn't clearly delineated. The transi-
tion from sharp and clear to softly focused was a gradual transition and the closer I focused the
clearer it became that only a thin line that cut across the image was sharp and clear - in Depth
of Field. If everything we had learned about light and space was true that wouldn't be the case.
Francois: So, if you are correct, then Depth of Field isn't a plain parallel to the barrel of the lens?
Falcon: Exactly - and the ramifications of that are immense.
Francois: Example?
Falcon: First and foremost, Depth of Field is a point on the surface of a sphere and not a plane
of a specific calculable depth.
Francois: Then why do we see an area that is sharp over some distance?
Falcon: Because the aperture limits the wavelength of light to a range that is relatively uniform.
Francois: The more consistent the light the larger Depth of Field appears to be?
Falcon: Absolutely. This is also why the volume of light is so critically important. Essentially
when the volume of light is consistent, the wavelength of light in the space will be relatively the
same.
Francois: I see, or perhaps I don't - not to the depth you do. This is a lot to think about. Do you
mind if we stop here and return to this discussion another time?
Falcon: Not at all. Till next time.

Emotion is a function of the relationship to an object and the dynamic range of color.

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