Week 4: One light to rule them all

      This week I thought to myself that I should try and take a picture of a beautiful sunset, but as I thought that I looked outside the back window of my childhood home and saw this light. This isn't the typical lighting picture that people “Ooo” and “aww” over but it has a purpose which is what is important; it brings light to a place that never used to see light at night. Looking at the light I realize how big of a light source this is for my backyard. My childhood home is considered to be out in the country so it’s safe to say that there are not very many lights around the neighborhood. My dad set the light up two Christmas’ ago by merely attaching a lamp on to a huge tall log.  The light soars over my backyard in height and shines a yellow light throughout the majority of the yard with ease. The light looks bright in my dark backyard but I would assume that next to a normal streetlight it would lose in a competition on brightness, but the light serves its purpose well enough to light the surrounding area of my yard. The lamp is on the edge of my yard and sheds its light in a sweeping motion from the top left to the bottom right. When the sun comes up the light automatically turns off and comes back on once the darkness returns.
      The light reminded me of Thursdays lecture. If you placed one person under this light one may think that the light gives the illusion of being trapped or alone (just like one of the lights we discussed in class). However, I don’t get that impression from this lamp, not at all. The light has a specific warmth about it that I wouldn’t feel anywhere else but my home. One might find the light to be secluded and creepy but I don’t because of my background, history and interpretation of this light. I don’t interpret the light as something to be intimidated by but rather something to be accompanied by.

      The experience of capturing this light helped me understand that one light (setting, fixture, combination etc.) can be seen in many different ways until someone is able to sway your opinion with their own idea of what the light means to them. It’s very interesting to think that one light can have multiple meanings to multiple people.