Blog #4 - Night & Day

As I mentioned in my picturization project paper, I really love imagery that represents or portrays stark contrasts. Whether it’s through distinct lighting, colors, textures, or underlying meanings, contrast gives offers so much more depth and dynamism, and just makes an image or scene more interesting to look at. What I love about this particular photo that I found on Flickr is that demonstrates contrast in a myriad of ways as a result of the lighting. On the left side of the picture, the natural amber light of the sunset keeps the sky partially illuminated just above the horizon and highlights the surface of the water, leaving a vertical reflective column of warm orange light. The sunlight doesn’t reach the right half of the photo and the only light to be seen is from a lighthouse where man-made, cold white light reflects out onto the water in a much thinner column. The lack of sunlight bouncing around in the atmosphere leaves darkness above and around the lighthouse, giving the right half of the photo the illusion that night has completely fallen. What I love about this contrast is how the two light sources, while completely different in temperature and hue, are at the exact same height and reflect in the same direction across the water. It’s literally night and day represented as a mirror image on each side of the picture and it’s really beautiful to look at.