Cinematic Light by Chipka
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Description
These towels don’t belong to a friend, and so there is no emotional connection with them; having said that, I can point out the obvious. At a certain time of the day, the sun shines through a particular window. The result is spectacular, even in regard to towels with which I have no emotional attachment.
On the night before I took this picture, I saw Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor with someone who is not a friend. It is one of my favorite movies, ever. There is a quality of light within the film, a quality of color, a flavor of texture. I thought of these elements as I saw light caressing towels belonging to someone who is not a friend.
On the day I took this picture, I heard the music and the dialogue from The Last Emperor playing through the convoluted mass of thoughts coursing through my mind. I was thinking of story ideas, I was thinking of characters—one based on a person I like immensely, and it shouldn’t be surprising that such a character might speak with a Russian or a Czech accent. Funny how that goes from time to time, how one’s beloved friends (both near and far) influence characters, or at least scenes in which a human figure might figure prominently in a visually scene. And so it goes…
…Sunlight and towels of dubious hygienic quality came together in ways of soft, inviting color. I thought of a character…I thought of Aisin-Gioro Pu-yi, the Kangde Emperor of Manchukuo, as played by John Lone, a hottie in a film also featuring Joan Chen, another hottie. (Historical bio-pics featuring a cast of hotties isn’t a bad thing.) I thought of lines of dialogue and cinematic qualities of light. I thought to grab my camera and—as is typical of me—snap pictures of a bathroom: not my own bathroom, mind you. And so, here it is…towels and light in a bathroom that isn’t mine.
As always, thank you for viewing, and reading, and commenting, and I hope you’re all on the verge of yet another good day.
Comments (16)
MrsRatbag
The light and colours blend to make a wonderful mood; it reminds me of long-gone afternoons in unfamiliar places with people I haven't seen in forever... well done image!
beachzz
The light makes the towels look lush and lovely, which I'm sure is hardly the case!
auntietk
LOVE that light! The soft rainbow colors of the towels is gorgeous. Well seen, and a wonderful photograph!
helanker
It is a beautiful light and make shiny edges on the towels. It gives a lovely effect. Nice shot Chip.
durleybeachbum
Lovely richness about this. Your narrative made me giggle.
alanwilliams
beautifully seen, i love the way the edges of the garments are picked out
bmac62
Love the photo for all the right artistic reasons mentioned by my predecessors above...but your words add meat to the bones. Outstanding...and it is cool:)
Orinoor
With just the title and the image, for a moment the towels were not towels, but a row of theatrical costumes waiting in the wings. I think it is the drape of the closest towel and the colors, along with your title, that took me there and for a moment I heard the dramatic speech patterns common with actors on a stage. I love the image and what you had to say, both funny and a little mysterious.
flavia49
wonderful image and great words!
sandra46
BEAUTFUL LIGHT GREAT SHOT
KateBlack10
Beautiful shot - love the light! Your narratives are always so cool. Great shot
RodS
Cinematic, indeed! Beautiful capture, Chip!
jac204
Wonderful capture.
lick.a.witch
Warm and inviting after a cool shower! Fantastic lighting. ^=^
myrrhluz
How fortunate that the owner of these towels does not have a matched set, laid out in precision in smooth layers. Instead the sun has found at least 6 different colors, pushed together into beautiful folds. I like this a lot. These everyday towels look splendid. I like their softly lit curved lines against the bright angular window. Excellent shot!
anahata.c
I wondered if these looked as cinematic and soft & melded in person as they do in your eye's capture. It indeed has a cinematic quality, it feels like film (ie, not digital), like film & not jpg...and while it's of towels that belong to a non-friend, I wonder if he/she knows how intimate you made them in your image. The towels pour down like light, the light in the window is turned into pure illumination, and the objects in the sill are just graced in glowing light. Beautiful. A shot about forms, hues & light, a vision. Re. the film you thought of, Bertolucci is one of the most lush & opulent of directors of the last 50 years, he seemed to put out one gushing tapestry after the next, and one of his favorite cinematographers was Vittorio Storaro---who you may know, but bear with me if I gush a little bit myself (and if I've already mentioned him in your gallery before)...he's done things with the camera that turn film into dreams and lush cascades and exquisite tactile lights coming out of darks. Storaro photographed "Apocalypse Now"s phantasmagorical hues, and a number of Bertolucci's films too incl the icy scenarios of "The Conformist" and the deep & seclusive sexual hues of "Last Tango". In "The Last Emperor" he made the Forbidden City a deep cavern of stunning reds, golds & yellows, accomplishing what many cinematographers would die to accomplish: Making a very dark enclosed space simply glow. Do you remember when the child-emperor walks out into a huge balloon on the square? That bold color is Storaro at his best, being inspired to the toes by the lush Bertolucci. What a combo. Then he turned around and made modern day china so astonishingly drab...(He uses filters...something I can't bring myself to do with a camera, and I'm always struck at how you get such patinas without them...I saw your camera, ain't no filters there!) it makes sense that you'd resonate with such a master, your sense of color & light is deep & opulent, and your tales speak what Storaro films. (He also photographed Carlos Saura's films, if you've seen them, such as "Tango," "Goya in Bordeaux" and "Flamenco". All worth seeing just for Storaro's eye; and the music in "Flamenco" is very stirring.) And that says nothing of the story of "Last Emperor," which is for another comment... Well, your vision here is like his interiors in "Last Emperor," ie, luminous while it's wholly cloistered, light glowing inside. It transcends the bounds of the little room it's in. And I guess you could say that the multicultural vision of Bertolucci is native to you in everything you do; and here it is in a simple bathroom of all places. (I remember "Last Emperor" starts in a bathroom---well, the first key scene is in a bathroom, shot in those steel grays if I recall, where Lone cuts his wrists...what an epic scope that film has...) I realize I'm rarely here anymore, but chip, your comments are absolutely wonderful, don't know how you find time for them and work and caring for Corey and seeing friends and, well, just breathing: But you do. And your vision & poetry in your gallery is as ever remarkable, and it's always a pleasure to return here. Always. I'll be back, I'm just struggling with every comment the last two days, it's not the artists, it's just me, but a beautiful upload & thoughts, and I have a few more tomes waiting for another 20 of your uploads. I'll be back...