Follow The Light
“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.”
The root of Photography is light and the common denominator of great photos is great lighting. You may have wonderful creativity, you might be phenomenal at post-editing, maybe an uber-expensive camera in your bag, but the light is the foundation and if it’s lacking it’s very difficult to produce a solid photo. George Eastman, the Founder of Kodak, once said “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.” When I’m shooting a landscape I first seek out the light then the scene that compliments and is enhanced by that light . I might be looking for sun rays piercing through clouds, or perhaps squeezing through a valley. I may bring my own light, a flashlight to illuminate an interesting foreground or a drone equipped with lights to light paint a tree or an object in the distance. If it’s a portrait I might be using the sun right before it sets or a strobe to create something moody. Let’s take it even further as in the photo above where I light painted with burning steel wool to create the streaks of light showering on the subject. Whatever it may be, the light is the first check box and allow it to guide you.
Hello World!
I always get asked about the momozart name. What’s it mean? How’d you come up with it?
Welcome to momozart! Before I dive in I’m going to throw out a little disclaimer. Don’t hold me to proper grammar, spelling or punctuation! I’d love for this blog to flow organically like a conversation however writing is definitely not my forte. Hence why I make photos instead of books. Moving on! So why photography? Well, growing up I was always searching for a meaningful and creative way to express myself. I tried writing…ugh. I dabbled in drawing and painting and though I enjoyed it I couldn’t quite get the end result to match what I saw in my imagination. For a decade and some I was creatively frustrated and didn’t have any form of productive self-expression. And it showed. I wasn’t happy. Then came the new age of smartphones…with decent cameras! I’d never used a camera previously. However photographing a grand city skyline, a moody beach sunset or grand view sparked and exercised my creativity like nothing before. I was hooked. I spent about a year using my iPhone camera exclusively before purchasing a DSLR. With the new camera in hand I was able to explore so much more both technically and creatively. I took my camera everywhere and was photographing everything. I also knew in order to produce a photo accurately from what I imagined I had to learn to use the tools and use them well; the camera, the lighting, the photo-editing software, all of it. After several years I came to the realization that I thoroughly enjoy landscapes and cityscapes but where my self-expression is fully projected is in my fine art. There’s a sense of gratification in creating a photo that represents a dream, something I love or fear, a hope perhaps, and it’s a deeply personal experience. What surprised me is that other people (besides my mom) also enjoyed some of my artwork. Whoa really? And so I began getting requests for prints and after several years of procrastinating and contemplating I figured a website might come in handy. So here we are. Whether its photography, painting or sculpting, or any other art I highly recommend everyone have a productive medium to express themselves. Its fulfilling, a beautiful way to get to know yourself more and share your soul with the World. If I could leave you one thought…something for all my photographers out there just starting off, I’d say learn the light. That’s all photography really is. The better the light the greater the chance of a good photo. Learn how light works, bounces, reflects. Learn how the camera absorbs it and manipulates it. And learn to experiment and put yourselves outside of your comfort zone every now and then. You’ll discover amazing things.
One more thing. I always get asked about the momozart name. What’s it mean? How’d you come up with it? My nickname is Momo so this is “Momo’s Art”!
Once again thank you for coming by and I look forward to sharing more with you in the future.