No. 535

First off let me say that I have looked at your other works and you create some amazing artwork with water and light. You definitely have what my instructor would call a coffee table book in the making if not already completed. I chose this image to talk about because I think it really speaks to the whole set.

Your lighting is simply amazing and near perfect. Im almost confused as to how you have it lit because there is no light spilling on the background at all but yet your subject is lit very well. I would imagine that your subject is a good distance away from the background in order to achieve this look. The only place that I can tell that your light is lacking a little is from the top of the lightbulb. The light around the edges is strong and gives great shape to the lightbulb and the air bubbles but the top has no lighting what-so-ever so it appears to be broken. This is not necessarily a bad thing because it gives the impression of possibly inserting a hot light bulb into water and it shattering from the sudden cool down. For that reason I like the idea that presented. I also enjoy how the hand is not seen on the other side of the water.

The concept itself is something that I have never run across before and for that alone your impact is great. The whole idea of turning it upside down to confuse the view works very well and had you not said anything I would still be pondering how you captured all the bubbles the way you did. At the current rotation of the image the bubbles become water droplets as though you stopped time for a brief second as the hand shoots up out of the water. There is sufficient negative space to give your subject the necessary attention it deserves. Your image is sharp all the way through to the point that you can see the filament in the light bulb. The composition of your image is good with your subject matter just off of the bottom right third corner and the brightest area of the image is bright enough to hold our attention due to the empty blacks around it. The lines in the image are pleasing and lead us to the light bulb exclusively.

The title of your image suggests you have been perfecting this form of shooting for a while with this piece being No. 535. As I dissect your imagine i keep trying to figure out how you have it set up. Its apparent that your using at least two lights, one from camera left and one camera right, perhaps from both sides of your container that holds the water. The container itself is a mystery because it does not appear to allow light through the back of it giving you the rich dark black as though the light is just being swallowed up by it. The size of your container also eludes me again because there is really no depth to your image. Then with the hand disappearing I can only assume that there is a drape which separates the edge of the water with the rest of the arm as it connects with the water. Then I am curious as to the logistics of doing such a shoot. Did you use a model for the hand or was it your own while you triggered the shutter remotely.

In conclusion I believe you have a great book in the making. I look forward to seeing all that you produce, and you are easily in my top 10 of favorite photographers and I do not make that decision lightly.