Sadly I was unable to attend this week's DCP! As You Like It closed today, this weekend went really well! I hope the DCP went well also!! I wish I could have seen Kyle's work, as I just love what he did with 39 steps.
I have been doing a lot of self portraiture lately, because I find something kind of inherently feminist about it. There is no contract involved, and the gaze of the artists' is my own, and no one is objectifying anyone.
I've been thinking a lot about backlighting, and the way it works on stage. It adds three dimensionality, and it seems a sense of romanticism, or just beauty. The day pictured below was at a gorgeous wedding, and the whole sense of the event was very romantic and rustic. The backlighting in this self portrait is perfect to accomplish that sense of romanticism. It also conceals the facial features a bit, making this seem very mysterious.
The glowing halos around the subjects and through the branches I think are what make the light most attractive. Also, Another detail I am in love with in the bright open sunlight on the fern in front of Marlena's legs. The plant is much more in focus than we are, and adds one beam of harshness right into the picture. There is another brushstroke being used in just that one tiny spot. The look of the ground is soft and mottled but we know what the sun would look like without those trees because we can see one beam.
Beautiful image and post, as always. Backlight is such a powerful statement and can say so much, this gauzy romanticism is definitely one of them. Truly a photo to try to re-create on stage - the realizations of how much front light you would actually need to make this work would be eye opening :)
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