Week 10: CHRISTMAS ON MAIN STREET!

This is Main Street, Disneyland, CA.

Going here a week ago today, seriously brought me into the holiday spirit. And brought me into it right!

How you ask? Well... ALL OF THE LIGHTS!

I snapped this picture right when I saw main street for the first time that night because I was just so awestruck by how gorgeously Disney had decorated this icon of a tourist attraction.

From the lit up wreath-like things going from one side to the other, to the giant Christmas tree that was probably more ornaments and lights than actual tree, to the revolving laser light thingy in the back.

It was all so amazing. Such a spectacle. It's so interesting though how lights are so connected to human emotion. The whole reason why people want to go to Disneyland during the holidays is BECAUSE of the decorations, the lights.

From the start I've been so fascinated with how subconscious that connection to light is that we have. We all have reactions to light and feel something when we see certain colors, certain lights, certain designs. But I wonder, do these feelings change from culture to culture? Or is there something universal about light that every human being can perceive the same way?

Whatever the answer may be, one thing is for sure. Everyone loves Christmas lights. And Disneyland.

Week 10: Christmassy Light

These Christmassy decorated displays are derived from the new Musical production 'Tinseltown Christmas' supported by UCI Drama Department. I took photos right after watching the musical show last Thursday night. The most famous and general colors for the Christmas season are justly green (Christmas tree), red (Rudolf deer's nose), and white (snow). These colors seem to be different and distinct, but the harmony of these three colors are incredibly splendid. In my memory I have experienced the previous Christmas days, my father always decorated the Christmas tree with twinkling Christmassy lights, bells, and stars; in addition, my mother and elder sister used to prepare for the most delicious food and deserts for our family. The mood has been warm, peaceful, joyful, genial, and happy all the time. Judging by my personal memory, I truly believe that the Christmassy lights are the best tool of conveying the feeling of happiness, impression, delight, and love to everyone. Besides, these Christmassy lights play a meaningful role of reminding the childlike innocence in adults' mundane lives. While staring at these Christmassy decorated lights, I could realize the significance of the light itself by passages: 'there is nothing without light' and 'we can't imagine the life without light.' Although we do not recognize how important the light is for our life due to the fact that light is everywhere nowadays, light is indispensable for our daily life. Just like the Christmassy lights naturally lead us to invaluable things, I hope we ruminate of the value of light's existence and appreciate for it in our everyday moment. Lastly, I wish and pretty sure that the Christmassy lights will enrich our life, embrace and heal people with a hurt.

 Merry Christmas, Everyone.  

Week 10: Romantic Fairytale

Irvine Spectrum is a really romantic place at night. There is no harsh lighting. Dim lighting is used all around which gives everything a softer look. The colors are all artificial but give a feeling of a fairytale. Lighting is used to highlight all the beautiful shapes as shown in this picture with the ferris wheel . I always enjoy how in such dark nights beautiful soft lighting can be used to brighten up things.

Week 10: Summer in October

I took this photo using my best friends really fancy SLR camera in the beginning of the fall quarter. It was still incredible hot outside for it almost being October and we decided to take a trip to Will Rodgers State Historic Park in Pacific Palisades. We took a tour of the home that Will Rodgers had built during the 1920's and while outside I spotted these plants that were covering an outdoor fireplace that crept up and all over the outside of the house. It might be the quality of the camera that really makes this so vivid and clear, but either way it is the light hitting the planter that gives it that feeling of a hot summer day in California. The blue sky and dark hidden shadows make it very cool, but because the green and yellow leaves are so prominent, it creates a hot and very harsh image to look at for a long time. I remember while taking the photo I had to wince while looking up, because even though there was no direct sunlight there was a glare from it being so bright. One thing I really like about the lighting is how spread out and even it seems, while still having so much happen with the shadows. There is an obvious natural quality because of the colors, but a slight mysterious feeling from the shadows.

Week 10: It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

When I was younger going to Disneyland was such a huge, rare, and amazing occasion. It was always built up into a big day of churros, dole whip and a dozen rides. When I moved to Irvine for college I got a Disneyland pass and now I go several times a quarter. Just recently I went to Disneyland and was pleasantly surprised to see that all the Christmas decorations were up. I watched the fireworks show and as the show came to a close the castle lit up with all these beautiful lights. The castle is lit with bright pink lights on each of the towers. These pink lights define the towers which prevents the castle from being completely engulfed in white lights. White icicles/twinkle lights cover the top of the whole castle. The bright white lights give the illusion of snow even though snow is something that we would never expect in southern California. If I were trying to create the illusion of snow on a house/castle on stage I don’t think I would use this many lights. I would probably use icicle shaped lights for the rims of the house but when creating actual snow I would use foam falling from the ‘sky’ while using light blue lights to create the background.

What’s great about this whole setting is that we know it’s not real, it’s not real snow, it’s not real icicles and yet we don’t care. It’s real to us, we know that they’re just pretty lights but with the whole atmosphere of Disneyland your imagination runs wild and you believe that everything is real instead of manufactured. It reminds me of a stage, whenever something is put on stage you believe it, you believe the story and the characters even though you know in the end that it’s only a play. It’s wonderful to let your imagination believe in these things because it allows you to accept the beauty in it.

Week 10: Reflection

For my final post of the quarter, I am using a picture I took in my first or second week after receiving the assignment. I was playing with the various affects light can accomplish against different materials.
This one, clearly, is trying out reflection. It's a little bit of a hokey image, but it got my ideas across. I actually think that the shadows outside are really cool as well, using the tree and the chair as a gobo.

I particularly enjoy this picture because I took it so long ago, and since then I have learned so much more about light. Seeing Tyler's use of reflection today in class, in a completely different way. I am feeling like there is so much more that light can do that I haven't thought of, which is exciting.

Week 10: There goes the sun...

This is another picture I took on the way back to Southern California, on that stretch of I-5 that seems to go on for days.

The thing I find most interesting about this is the effect of the cloud/haze - it obscures enough of the light to lend an air of mystery without diminishing too much of the brightness of the sun. The way that the strip of cloud reflects the light also serves the contrast with the dark of the Earth below, and I really love that.

There's a very idealized romantic view of sunsets, and some are beautiful in a romantic way, but I also think the inherent darkness can bring about another kind of beauty. I suppose the haze adds even more to that - the mysterious and dark quality that takes over as night falls. But one of the biggest things I've learned this quarter is the extent to which light  and the interpretation of it - varies from person to person.