Shining light on the past

Looking back at some of my old photos, it’s become obvious to me that I’d forgotten one of the key elements of photography. Lighting. This explains why some of the frames I had in mind never really materialised when I pressed the shutter button. Even when the location and environment were perfect, I often found myself underwhelmed and dissatisfied with my photos. Although I can’t remember the exact words, I remember hearing something that has been stuck at the back of my head for weeks now. It was something along the lines of “when it’s all said and done, photography is just light”. Since then I’ve been on the lookout for interesting lighting. Even when the scene isn’t particularly interesting, I’ve been consciously challenging myself to capture the light in interesting ways. Keeping this at the forefront of my mind has already started paying off. Now I’m not saying all of my photos are ten out of ten, however I feel I’m slowly retraining my photographic eye.

This became more apparent during a recent visit to Calke Abbey, which is somewhere I’ve visited countless times, but on this occasion I found myself seeing things in a different light. Things that felt mundane before have become interesting. For example, we entered an old stable as my son wanted to play with one of the activities, throwing a beanbag onto a wooden board containing horseshoes. While we played, something caught my attention. It was an old gas lantern that was sat on a shelf towards the far corner of the stable. It wasn’t really on display, and I can only presume it had been left there and long forgotten. Now this wouldn’t be something I would usually take an interest in, however as the corner was coated in darkness, a sliver of light illuminated the lantern through a dusty window, and I couldn’t resist the urge to capture the scene in that moment.

After previewing the results on the back of my camera, I felt pleased with this photo and inspired to pursue the light further. After the stables, we walked up to the Church of St Giles and then went on to explore the house itself. The light poured into the church through the grand windows on either side, soaking the pews and casting shadows throughout the walkway. There was so much potential, but I couldn’t quite execute my vision. Although I did manage to create a few “sketchbook images” that I can study and reference when I return. Rather than getting disheartened, I’m using these as learning opportunities, a chance to reflect on what I do and don’t like about them and take notes for next time.

My visit to the house proved more fruitful. My bag, and camera, had to be stored away in a locker for most of the time, however I managed to create a few photos on my trusty iPhone. Although most of these were sketchbook photos again, I was really pleased with a handful. It wasn’t until the latter third of the house that I had my camera back in hand and created one of my favourite photos of the day.

At the time of writing this, I still can’t quite put my finger on exactly what it is I find so pleasing about this photo, but I’ll keep revisiting it until I understand it a bit more. One thing I can be sure of though is that without the single, direct natural light source, this scene would be flat and a lot less interesting.

If photography really is just light, then maybe this is me learning to see it again. Not chasing locations or subjects, but paying attention to how light shapes what’s already there.

I’m starting to understand it a little more, but I’m Not.Quite.There yet.