Week 2: Hidden Stream

I took this picture while I was out running on Thursday. I was going through the San Juaquin Marsh and I noticed a stream off to the right side of the trail. I was very struck by the warm glow around the stream in contrast to the cool tones around the water itself. There were plants and trees growing around it and above the water, so the sparse rays of light that could penetrate the heavy canopy were reflected in the water and bounced back up to the branches. It made the whole area very ephemeral and other-worldly. This eerie feeling was amplified by the movement of the branches in the wind. The shadows and rays of light were constantly shifting and changing. While I feel like the photo I took looks very pretty, a video might have better captured the mutating shadows of the scene.

If I were to recreate the lighting onstage, I feel that the most difficult part would be the light reflecting back up from the water. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a show that used mirrors on the ground to imitate that sort of aquatic reflection, but it would be an interesting thing to try out. It would also be interesting to try and recreate the shifting patterns of the sunlight with a pair of gobos and a twin spin.