Brilliant Shadows

     Okay, I know I'm kind of the subject of this picture, but that's not why I like it! My friend took this of me at a small horse ranch near my house in Glendale. It's one of my favourite spots because it's so hidden and tucked away, you would never know there was this little piece of open land in the middle of urban LA. In fact, if it weren't for the palm tree, I would think I was up on my grandparents' farm! When I look at it, I feel both the bittersweetness of another day coming to an end and a sense of longing, possibly because the light itself exists so far away in the distance past a wide expanse of land, and possibly because I just have sentimental feelings for the setting. I love that the sky has dark purple/blue clouds that are outlined by white and gold. I think it makes a really cool contrast and because everything in the picture is shadowed in only the light reflecting off of these dark clouds, it all just makes the bright white and gold seem even more brilliant in comparison. In a theater I would want to use an uplight from behind the subject in pale yellow or a very, very pale blue to represent brilliant sunlight, and maybe a few side lights dimmed in a dark purple or dark blue to give off a hint of that cool dark feel. However, if I couldn't place an uplight at that angle, I might use a parcan and maybe even some shins to create some cool shadows. I might even want to add some gobos to create specific shadows, since so much of this picture lives in shadow.