The translation of the Greek work 'Photography' means writing or drawing with light. I believe you will improve more quickly as a photographer by training your eye to observe light rather than buying studio lights. I study the way light falls on people's faces in cafes and buses, in meetings and at dinner. I've studied this light for more than thirty years. It never ceases to amaze me.
Rembrandt light adds contours and three-dimensionality, flat light drowns the face in a sea of nothingness and Rim light can transform the innocent person into the mysterious and dramatic. One light is all I need - anything more interferes with perfection.
I saw the light playing on the internal staircase of the hotel and asked Helen Bareham to lay back with her mandolin. The mandolin was more part of her life than almost anything else. I went to the first floor and hung over the balcony with my camera. I asked Helen to move this way and that an inch or two so the light played on her body. Its almost as if I can hear music when light plays so well.
