Testing out a newly acquired black SR-T 202, I went looking for subjects. This light beam only occurs during a few weeks of July each summer. I’ve photographed it before in B&W, so I decided to try color. I worried, rightly, that the contrast would be problem. However, I could not resist the shaft of light highlighting the dracaena leaves and dividing the frame. It sort of reminds me of the light beam that was used to locate the Egyptian tomb in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
We have windows that face east, west, and south. Light beams feel their way around the perimeter of the house over the course of a year. Moving from window to window, they advance and recede, signifying time-of-year, and they brighten and dim, denoting time-of-day—a combined calendar and sundial from sunbeams and windows.
It’s amazing the light/shadowplay you can find in your own home if you look for it; we have blinds in the kitchen and as the sun moves from east to west, the light cast over the dining table, walls, counters, objects on them and so on changes quite remarkably; the blinds themselves cause intriguing patterns, especially depending on what objects are out on the counters/tables at any given time.
Light can be great. With a little planning, some great still life images are possible.
I too, have things in my home where rays of light appear over the seasons, and like you, I just can’t help myself. Have to make that picture.
Hard to resist, isn’t it?
For me the best light occurs mid-summer, November and February. Also, in late January, the moon sets between two branches of an elm tree that forms a “V”. I hope to get that shot next year.