By Max Cooley
What is your piece titled?
Light Tunnel
How long do you think it took you to make this art?
2-3 hours, but only after lots of practice with other things before.
What is your favorite part about this piece?
There’s a light wand held behind the subject’s leg, meaning it’s completely hidden while still illuminated the tunnel behind her.
What was a challenge in creating this ?
Deciding on the posing, framing, and location in the tunnel was difficult for me. I took 109 different photos before this one. I spent a lot of time holding the light wand myself to illuminate her, but I later realized that it made a more interesting photo to have everything except her illuminated.
What medium did you use to create this artwork?
Digital Photography
What is the meaning behind your artwork?
I wanted to experiment with a portrait that utilized lighting with neon colors. Most of my assignments and examples that I learned from previously did not do anything cool with the lighting. It was always just natural or white and I was interested in trying something else.
What was the inspiration behind this piece?
I was inspired by other portraits that used neon lighting to illuminate their subjects.
What do you hope viewers will take away from this artwork?
I hope people are inspired to try out some more unorthodox lighting configurations.
What was the process like in creating this piece?
This was shot in an aqueduct tunnel nearby the Union Pacific Trail train tracks. We walked inside and put a lot of effort into deciding which part of the tunnel would be good for this photo. I originally wanted to have the entrance in the background, with light entering from behind, however I realized that I preferred to have all light be artificial as it made the whole photo much more blue.
Who is your favorite artist and why?
I don’t really have a favorite artist. I’m much more focused on photography and it’s definitely easier to distinguish between different artists who do something like painting or illustration than a photographer, but not to say that you can’t. There are definitely lots of famous photographers who have distinct styles.