Blinded by the Light

 Thought this was going to be a post about the music video for "Blinded by the Light" by Manfred Mann's Earth Band? Maybe next time, but for now I'm talking about blinds. You know, the things that are supposed to block the light from coming into your room at night, or at least give you some privacy. Well, sometimes those blinds don't exactly keep all of the light out, but instead create some really nice shadows! 

This year, in my quest to get "art smart", with help from my art professors, I've learned about how much light and shadows can add to photos. These are picture I took in the lounge of my dorm building. Not exactly something that would be considered "beautiful" or even worth looking at, the carpet is outdated, along with the blinds that are annoying to use and break too easily. But, the shadows they create make dynamic abstract images.

In the image above, I wanted to capture this perspective that would guide the eye to the center and keep it focused on the image. The lines from the blinds and the shadows they create, plus the vent on the ground helps to do this. If the shadows wouldn't have been there at the time of day that I took these photos, the image wouldn't be nearly as strong. 

Here again, the image is made by the shadows. I liked how the rounded shape of the broken blind stuck disrupted the shadow lines. Without the light, the image would seem flat and your eye would fall right out of it. 

I've really grown to appreciate light this semester, end recognize it's beauty even when I'm not trying to make art. Just focusing on this one element has already made me a little more art smart!