In my recent work I have been continually drawn to reflections of light off shiny surfaces such as wooden floors. This is less about the shadows created by light and objects, and more about the way the light interacts with the surfaces it reaches.
I often look for this in homes I am photographing and frequently frame images around these. I wonder why this is.
Light and shadows have played an important role in my photographic development over the last two years, and this is part of that area. The depth, both physical and emotional, that a strong use of light and shadows brings to an image is highly important for this work. Without these variations lighting becomes flat and homes become soulless or lifeless. The reflections I am discussing here are really about light, not shadows. Shadow and silhouette focus is as much about what the light doesn’t touch as what it does. It also plays on the fact that we often cannot see what the light is touching that causes the shadow. However, reflections are all about highlighting what the light is touching, making a feature of it.
Windows allow the light that bounces off shiny surfaces in, and I have recently blogged about their importance when photographing the house. So I am seeking out these reflections not only for their beauty, but also the fact that they represent the outside coming in. Not only that, but they physically show us the outside world having an effect on the home interior. This could be seen as an intrusion, but I find it is a more comforting and symbiotic relationship. The house needs the outside world to help it come alive, and the outside world needs to touch the interiors to feel connected to those inside.
The outside coming in and touching the domestic interiors is also mirroring the audience being allowed into these homes. In this version though, hopefully the homes touch the audience rather than the other way around.
Contextualised examples of this include:
Yasuhiro Ishimoto’s Katsura series.
Though he was working in Japan where tatami mat flooring is not as shiny and reflective as wooden flooring, he still makes outside light hitting the flooring important within the work.
Ansel Adams – The Tetons and the Snake River
Though this may not be an interior shot it displays similarities. The photograph is made dramatic and layered by the light hitting the river. Without this element the foreground could feel overly dominant and the river would not be such a key part of the image.
Bill Brandt – Snicket in Halifax
At first glance when walking past this scene it could seem very simple. On a day of flat light and matt surfaces it could be. But the light shiny off the paving stones is what elevates this image. The way the light is interacting with the stones is both playful and slightly sinister. It makes the sharp incline look slippery and potentially dangerous. But it also adds a slightly bizarre air of glamour to the hill.
Jack Delano – Interior of a Rural House
Light is used here to not reflect as much but to highlight specific things. Each time there is a person there is a shaft of light illuminating them. As the eye works its ways back through the building, each shaft reveals another member of the family. Everyone inside the house is looking out, looking into the light, suggesting a desire to interact with the outside world more than the inside.
References:
- ADAMS, ANSEL. 1942. The Tetons And The Snake River [image]. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Adams_The_Tetons_and_the_Snake_River.jpg [accessed 4 Jun 2019].
- BRANDT, BILL. 1937. Snicket In Halifax, 1937 [image]. Available at: http://www.billbrandt.com/bill-brandt-archive-print-shop/sp17-snicket-in-halifax-1937 [accessed 4 Jun 2019].
- DELANO, JACK. 1941. Interior Of A Negro Rural House, Greene County, Georgia, 1941. [image]. Available at: https://www.moma.org/collection/works/178653 [accessed 4 Jun 2019].
- ISHIMOTO, YASUHIRO. 1954. Moon-Viewing Platform Seen From The Second Room, Katsura 1954 [image]. Available at: https://www.moma.org/collection/works/45356?artist_id=2834&locale=en&page=1&sov_referrer=artist [accessed 4 Jun 2019].
Jo Salomon CRJ 
