The 5 Elements of Photography – Light

In the beginning was (and is) The Light.

This is true of all photography, without question and indeed of all human sight. I could probably stop right here, but let’s not be hasty.

So. Of the five photographic elements, light is—along with the Photographer—of primary importance.

But why is this so?

Well, in the case of film and digital photography, the recording device (the film or the sensor) picks up the light that an object reflects, bounces, or emits, gathered and focused through a lens of some sort: no light, no photo.

When we make a photograph of a landscape, say, we’re not really taking a picture of the trees, but of the light bouncing off of and filtering through the trees. And when I make a photo of Olive, the sensor collects photons that bounce off of her black fur and translates them into the unique arrangement of 1s and 0s which cause a picture of Olive to appear on the screen.

This is remarkably similar to the ways in which most sighted, warm-blooded animals see the world. I don’t see Olive, I see the light reflected off of Olive, collected and processed into electrical pulses, which give rise to a picture of Olive (and various other sensations besides).[i]

Other animals and beings in the world (and, presumably, on other worlds) use other systems of vision, and their visual acuity is such that they see a wider or narrower part of the electromagnetic spectrum than do we humans. Olive, for example, doesn’t see much in the way of color, and has a hard time resolving fine detail, but she can see in much dimmer light than I, roughly 8 times less light, due to differences in our biology.

Now. Admittedly, I’m using ‘light’ in a rather general manner, and I won’t go into too much of a digression here, but with the aid of specialized instruments, we can create photographs of things that emit only radio waves, or gamma radiation, or any of the other types of ‘light’ that exist on the electromagnetic spectrum which covers a broad range of light types, from the type that carries the traffic report to me, focused through an antenna and displayed as a sequence of noises through speakers scattered throughout the car, to fancier types, like those that we use to see inside ourselves and those that turned Bruce Banner into the Incredible Hulk.

While we use other types of light to create photographs, the two most common types employed are natural light (sunlight) and artificial light (tungsten or compact flourescent and built-in/external/studio flash units). It doesn’t really matter which sort of light we use, and any sort of light is suitable for photography, depending on the scene photographed and the photographer’s vision. While all photographs depend on light of some sort for their existence, other factors go into the making of a photograph, and it is to those I turn next, specifically the equally important element of photography, the Photographer.

 

[i] I could go off into Merleau-Ponty’s Phenomenology of Perception, but I’ll spare you that digression.

 

The 5 Elements of Photography – Introduction

Over the past year, I’ve listened to people discuss photography for at least 1500 hours, and probably more. I listen at work, in the car, and while doing other things, and so my listening is not active, and that’s probably why it’s taken me so long to get some things. A couple of months ago, though, I spontaneously blurted out something about photography that struck me as somewhat profound, but that I later realized was missing something.

At the time, I considered photography to spring from the admixture of four elements: the subject, the photographer, the lens, and the camera. But I left out probably the most important thing: light *facepalm*. And here is where the osmosis method of learning fails, somewhat. At least I was able to realize my error.

And now, despite only attempting to be an amateur photographer, I’ve decided I should write up this theory, mostly to help myself flesh out these ideas, but also to help readers, if anyone should stumble across this. So let’s get started.

On my view—and I think this is supported by professional photographers (and professional podcastors)—any and all photographs require exactly 5 elements: light, the subject, the lens, the camera, and the photographer. Some of these are more important than others, but all are required to create a photograph.

Without a camera—the surface, be it analog or digital, on which the image appears or otherwise comes to be recorded—there will never be a photograph. Likewise, no photographs without a lens—the focusing and cropping mechanism through which a scene is selected—to capture the subject and transport it to the camera. And the same applies, mutatis mutandis, to the Light, the Subject, and the Photographer.

Of course, some of these carry a good bit more weight than others. But all are necessary for the creation of a photograph.

In order of importance:

1. Light
1. The Photographer
3. The Subject
4. The Lens
5. The Camera

I rank Light and the Photographer as equal in importance, since a photographer with a vision can make a photograph in the crappiest of light, and because any being with the ability to trip the shutter can make a great photograph if the light is great.

The other requirements are no less necessary, but are much less important.

If the light is great and the photographer has vision, skill, etc., even the most banal subject can make for a brilliant photograph, or, at the very least, rise to the level of art. (Please see Bernd and Hilda Becher for more on this.)

If the light is right and the photographer points the camera toward a pleasing subject, a tiny hole in a piece of tin can produce beauty.

If the photographer has a vision and finds light that matches this vision, a coffee can with a sheet of photographic paper in it makes a perfectly suitable camera.

But without a camera, without a lens, without a subject, the photographer can only stare as light streams by at 186,000-odd miles per second. And without some form of light (visible, or in the form of radiation, radio waves, and the like), there can be no sight, much less any photography.

So these are the 5 elements of photography. In the coming days or weeks, I’ll delve into each in more detail. Please stay tuned! And let me know where I’ve failed in the comments.

 

Refried Black Beans

I have nachos for dinner almost every night these days. One of the benefits of eating the same thing(s) all the time is the cost: I can make a big pot of black beans for less than $10 (often less than $5), and it will last me 2 or 3 weeks. Another wonderful thing: I never wonder what I’m going to have for dinner. But there are also drawbacks: I have to be sure that I’m getting complete nutrition from the two or three meals I eat every day, and people find my diet rather strange.

Anyway. Here’s my Black Bean recipe. It can be doubled or tripled fairly easily, and I’ve substituted pinto beans with no ill effects.

Prep time: 10 minutes (or 12 hours + 10 minutes); Cook time: 2-4 hours; Servings: 10.

Ingredients:

  • one pound of black beans
  • one medium red onion, coarsely chopped (yellow and white also work fine)
  • one clove of garlic, finely diced
  • 1 jalapeño, seeded and chopped
  • 3T Cumin
  • 2T Chili Powder
  • 2 cans diced tomatoes with green chilis
Soak the black beans over night (or all day while you’re at work, or both) in a large pot. The quick soak instructions on the package have never worked for me, but you could try for yourself.
Drain and rinse the beans, and add back to the pot. Cover with 6 cups hot water, bring to a boil, and simmer with the lid tilted for about two hours, or until the beans are mostly softened.
Add remaining ingredients and cook until the onions are soft: about 20 minutes should be fine.
Drain beans, reserving the liquid, and grind them up in a blender or food processor until smooth. Return beans to the pot and add enough liquid back in to make a loose paste. Cook this for an additional 20 minutes or so (this is the ‘refried’ part).
I make my own tortilla chips (4 corn tortillas, cut into 32 wedges, very lightly salted, and heated at 325 until crispy: this makes a decent amount for one meal for one person), but you could easily serve over store-bought chips, or rolled up like a burrito. Add shredded sharp cheddar or jack cheese, sour cream, guacamole, fresh pico de gallo, or whatever and make it your own!

Tortilla soup

My current lunch obsession. I make this in rather large batches (doubling the recipe below), separate into lunch-sized portions, freeze, and take to work. The soup thaws on my desk all morning, and takes 4-6 minutes (stirring and breaking up remaining ice chunks) after 3 minutes.

As with many of my other recipes, this is adapted from multiple sources.

Prep time: 15 minutes; Cook time: 1 hour, more or less; Yield: ~8 servings

Ingredients:

  • 2T oil or butter
  • 1 medium onion, 1/4-1/2 inch dice, your choice of color (I prefer red, but white and yellow have been tested and work fine)
  • 1 clove garlic, finely diced or minced
  • 1 green bell pepper, 1/4-1/2 inch dice
  • 1 red bell pepper, 1/4-1/2 inch dice
  • 1 can tomato paste
  • 2 cans diced tomatoes with green chilies (or substitute your favorite—fire roasted tomatoes add an interesting bit of flavor—or add ~4 diced tomatoes with juice and a can of green chilies or two, or whatever… none of this is particularly exact)
  • 8 cups of vegetable stock (or chicken broth, if you like that sort of thing)
  • 2T Cumin
  • 1T Chili Powder
  • 1 can of corn, drained
  • 1 can of black beans, drained or not
Heat oil in a large, heavy pot until it begins to shimmer, add onion and bell peppers, and cook until almost-soft, then add garlic. Cook, stirring often, for a bit, then make a well in the center and add the tomato paste. Fry the tomato paste for one minute, then stir to combine with vegetables. Add diced tomatoes, vegetable stock, and spices, bring just to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 25 or 30 minutes. Add the corn and black beans and simmer for an additional 15 to 20 minutes.
Serve immediately with some combination of tortilla chips (or fresh-made tortilla strips), sour cream, guacamole, shredded cheddar or jack cheese (or both), and anything else you can think of, or nothing. Leftovers freeze well and reheat nicely, though the peppers tend to get a bit slimy.
When I make this, I portion the soup out immediately after adding the corn and black beans, omitting the  final simmer phase. This seems to help the bell peppers retain a bit of their crunch. I also double the recipe with no ill effects.
I have no idea about the exact nutritional value of this soup, but I expect it’s reasonably healthy.
If you try it out, let me know how you like it and suggest areas for improvement!