Two nights ago, my door bell rang at nearly midnight. I woke up, came outside, and my entire block had been decorated with live flame votive candles. I followed a trail of them toward a bench with what looked like a little alter, and found flowers and chocolate and some drawings. Just as I started to cry, I heard singing the bushes immediately next to me, as two of my favorite crazy people in the whole world started to sing some kind of folk version of Happy Birthday from inside the shrubbery.
I was torn between taking in the beauty and documenting it- but after about 10 minutes of absorption, I busted out my tripod. The little candles were an overwhelming sight. The feeling of them was also really hard to capture.They made the world seem so sacred and beautiful for a moment.
What strikes me about this photo is the different colors of the lights. The warm straw gold color of the live flame makes the post Jeremy and Alex are leaning against seem sooo green. I immediately went to change that in post because it didn't feel right in terms of the essence of the photo, but I thought I'd leave it for the critique. We also have an amber/pink sort of wash coming from a taller lamp just to the right of the bench.
I love how I cannot see their faces in this photo- it feels right to let them be concealed. Although there are tons of little lights in front of them, there is a strong source behind them that is keeping them in shadow.
Those two are insane but I respect them even more for doing this :) - It is a great image for the ritual in Yerma
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful and indelible birthday gift - the green is strangely incongruous with the wonders and emotion of the moment - one of those things that would probably be removed if you were to create it onstage :)