On seeing the light, By Robert de Gast, Aug 25, 2006

"We all know what light is," the 18th-century lexicographer and critic Dr. Samuel Johnson once said to his biographer, James Boswell, "but it is not so easy to tell what it is." Today, we know a little more. For one thing, light is something that makes vision possible.

For another, it travels at 186,282 miles per second, which is fast as hell. And any physicist will also tell you that light is just electromagnetic radiation that ranges in wavelengths from about 4,000 to 7,700 angstrom units and can be considered variously as a wave, corpuscular or quantum phenomenon. So there! But it's still not easy to tell what it is, 300 years later. What photographers know, though, is that you can't take pictures without light.

After the subject, light is the most important component of a photograph. It determines how things will look in terms of contrast, contour, form, texture, tone and color. To some photographers, light appears to be a mystery, something only a few anointed people (painters, say, or professional photographers) are able to experience or understand; to others it is intimidating, as if it were a scary gas, like carbon monoxide, invisible and, possibly, deadly. But the really nice thing about light is that you can see it. You can see where it comes from, where it lands, how much there is, what colors it contains. Which is a good thing, as Martha Stewart would say.

If we are resourceful, or patient, we can have light work for us. If the light is man-made, artificial, we can move the source around and turn it on or off, as with our camera's flash. If the light is coming from the sun, we can wait for the earth to turn, thus changing the angle of the light. We can wait for the clouds to part or the fog to roll in. What kind and quality of light would make your photograph most effective?

My friends in San Miguel often talk about the wonderful light we have in our fair city. Actually, the light here is the same as it is everywhere on earth. The difference lies in varying atmospheric conditions and the declination of the sun. The experience of light (and color) is very subjective.

When we comment on the light we may well be remarking on the colors … and on our state of mind. Still, in San Miguel color seems to be more present than in, say, New York City. "When I sit in the Jardín watching the Parroquia," says one photographer, "the colors change every minute." No doubt, especially early in the morning and late in the afternoon, and the beautiful, pinkish cantera-stone façade of the church reinforces that feeling. The colors of the Empire State Building also change every few minutes. But when was the last time you sat on a bench quietly watching the light and the colors change on that building?

With the summer solstice behind us, the days are now getting shorter and will continue to do so until December. Make hay-and photographs-while the sun shines! Just think: without light we'd be in the dark. Goethe's dying words are said to have been "More light!" He would have made a fine photographer.

Robert de Gast, a long-time resident of San Miguel, has been a professional magazine photographer for nearly 50 years. He lectures and offers short photography tutorials. He can be reached at 152-7396 or by email at robertdegast@hotmail.com