The Quality of California Light
I'm a Lancashire lad; born and raised in the north of England. In my late twenty-somethings, however, I was asked by my company if I'd consider relocating to HQ in Silicon valley and the rest, as they say, is history.
One of the huge things Northern California had it it's favor was the weather. English winters can be incredibly dark and gray and gloomy. Don't get me wrong, I love the UK and my English background - I just can't cope with depressing weather any more.
My English friends seem to think that we don't have seasons in California. While this is not true I will concede that the climate is more temperate and less extreme than England. One thing that is more consistent in California is the light. I've just been going back through some of my favorite shots taken while I've been over here and there is a lot of strong blue skies and strong shadows in my pictures. I was thinking about this and maybe this is because I was not born into this kind of light. That's not to say that we don't have blue skies and strong light and shadows in England; we do but not so consistently day after day. I'm always drawn to these strong, warm shadows and deep blue skies and it's probably precisely because I was not born into them. Like a true Brit, I never take them for granted and revel in this light every day I find myself out in it. I love to run in it, to walk my dogs in it, to drive with the top down in it and, of course, to take pictures in it. The light, to a great extent, is my muse in a way it rarely was in the UK. I may spend the rest of my life living in San Francisco and I hope I never take the light for granted.
What about you? Is there a light that defines where you live? Is the light where you live different from the light where you grew up and, if so, how does it affect your photography?
Comments