Incandescent photo...may we see one that you like?

[DM51]

I love those pics in the jazz club. It's very atmospheric indeed, and must be a great place to go.

The pics themselves have a very nice grainy texture, which adds to the effect rather than diminishes it. As an amateur, I'm not sure if grain is the same thing as "noise", but I don't think it is. If the pics were pin-sharp with no grain, I don't think they would be nearly as effective.

 

[csshih]

hehe, grainyness would be from the ISO being ramped up because of the low lighting.. but indeed! it does somewhat contribute! interesting.

 

[jtr1962]

OK, here is what I regard as the Incandescent picture par excellence:

"Soiree im Hotel Caillebotte in der Rue Monceau im Jahre 1878" by the French Impressionist Jean Beraud:

I saw the original at the Victorian Art Gallery in 2004 when they had an exhibition from the Paris Musee d'Orsay. This painting was a standout - even amongst the Renoirs and Monets there. I thought it was all about the ladies, the occasion, the grandeur and the mood. But one thing that particularly struck me, which I thought an irrelevant detail at the time, was how the electric lights in the painting actually seemed to be glowing, as if they were switched on.

But in talking this picture over with my artist lady friend, upon mentioned the lights, both the orbs and the chandeliers, seemingly glowing out of the canvas, she asked the date it was painted. Easy question - same as the occasion - 1878.

She reminded me that in Paris in 1878, electric light was THE in thing, and just lighting a room with electric light, with its sparkling quality, unlike the softer gaslight, was a social occasion. It was the latest thing.

The point being, that the glowing electric lights leaping out of the canvas for me to notice was quite deliberately intentional on the part of the artist. He wanted the excitement, the glitter and the sparkle of the lights to grab your attention - it was part of the message of the painting.

So there. The Incandescent picture par excellence. Glad to have an opportunity to share this with you.

Link to larger version of painting

I also want to point out in 1878 the majority of electric lighting was arc lighting which had been in use since around 1800 (or possibly even in ancient Egypt based on archeological evidence). It's therefore highly likely that the type of lighting used in the room depicted in the image is indeed arc lighting (still technically incandescent light). Filament-based lamps based on carbon paper had only just been demonstrated in England in 1878, weren't particularly long lasting, and weren't made in anything beyond very small quantities. It wasn't until Edison's work a few years later that practical filament lamps were invented and finally mass produced. Indeed, arc lighting was still widely used even in the beginning of the 20th century. It wasn't until the invention of the tungsten lamp in 1910 that filament-based lighting really took over.

 

[LuxLuthor]

http://en.allexperts.com/e/e/ex/exposition_universelle_(1878).htm

Exposition Universelle (1878)

The third Paris World's Fair, called an Exposition Universelle in Frenchhttp://en.allexperts.com/e/f/fr/french_language.htm, was held from May 1 through November 10, 1878. It celebrated the recovery of France after its crushing defeat in the 1870 Franco-Prussian War.

Among the many inventions on display was Alexander Graham Bell's telephone. Electric lighting had been installed all along the Avenue de l'Opera and the Place de l'Opera, and in June, a switch was thrown and the area was lit by electric light bulbs, invented by Thomas Edison, who also had on display a megaphone and phonographhttp://en.allexperts.com/e/p/ph/phonograph.htm.

 

[jtr1962]

Thanks for the link, Lux. Seems it was filament-based lamps after all, and given the date of the painting they must have seemed really cutting edge.

 

[lctorana]

And that's the whole point.

The nineteenth century had a very different attitude to new technology. New innovations, like eletric light, the telephone, the coming of the railways, the phonograph, were all occasions for social occasions.

Today, we use terms like "cutting edge". We don't host a ball to celebrate the launch of the new iPhone or whatever. But in Paris, Vienna and London, we once did exactly that.

History books recount lavish banquets/speeches/balls being held in the goods shed at the opening of a new railway line.

Back then, new technology wasn't just for geeks, it excited the populace.

The London Exhibition of 1851 at the long since demolished "Crystal Palace" was the first "World's fair". Lux nailed it in his link. I work across the road from the Melbourne Exhibition buildings - a gorgeous edifice that hosted the 1880 Exhibition.

I'm rambling. I'll stop now.

 

[Icebreak]

Here are a few photos of paintings. The first artist is abstractly studying light and color.

Incandescent light with exterior light during thunderstorm.

Both sources together.

Straight forward.

Closer

Knee from a distance.

Knee closer.

There are many interesting things that can be seen here. Thought you guys might find some interest in it.

I was looking at the war dance taking place between the interior light and the intruding exterior light. In the close up photo that looks like flowers, I was noticing how the color helped the depth. The shadows cast on the wall from that shot are of some value as you can see the two source of light in a subractive form. When it comes to art, I know so little but I liked the knee painting and that blue abstract way, way back in the back.

 

[Icebreak]

Here's some photos of some lights and some nourishment and some people.

 

[Icebreak]

iphone meets incandescent flashlight meets Corona beer.

 

[Icebreak]

The problem with the light is the big orange awning.

Canon PandS taking a similar shot.

We can find the cheese if we put a flashlight on the Chimmies.

I don't usually drink beer but this meal was screaming for a golden colden.

 

[lctorana]

Now that is the very model of a modern flashoholic.

Sitting in a restaurant, shining a torch at his dinner plate.

And taking beamshots.

 

[DM51]

Now that is the very model of a modern flashoholic.

Sitting in a restaurant, shining a torch at his dinner plate.

And taking beamshots.

LOL! I wonder if he had the light in a tripod clamp pointed at the plate to keep the food hot!

 

[LuxLuthor]

Now that is the very model of a modern flashoholic.

Sitting in a restaurant, shining a torch at his dinner plate.

And taking beamshots.

That was hysterical. I didn't even think about that aspect. The only way to demonstrate more of a flashaholism would have been Eva sitting across from him when he did photos.

 

[Icebreak]

LOL, you guys.

There's something fairly serious that's wrong with me.

It does look a little odd when I do that. Most people think I'm a food critic if I'm by myself. Sometimes the owners want copies. My lunch buddies are into it now. "Shoot the beer! That'd look cool!"

Alas I've been thinking too small. I need to go see if Eva is on facebook. A girl's gotta eat, right?

 

[Icebreak]

This place sells food and art. The walls and most everything else is yellow. AWB on most of these I think. The Pork was drab, the wine was a bit snitty, the art was urban but very lively, liked the guitar picker a ton, the space was nice, the server was the most attractive thing in the place and the music from the club next door was really, really sweet.

 

[lctorana]

The dinner-plate doesn't look like an incan photo. Seems lifeless, somehow. Maybe better lighting might have lifted the food and made it more appetising

 

[Icebreak]

Wow. It really is quite flat. My best guess is that the room is overtaken with yellow light reflecting off of everything. I mean that room is seriously yellow. Maybe having such a dominance of one frequency range has weakened the other frequencies so much I didn't get any depth.

The waitresses, chef and matre di looked natural to me but that could have been because they were getting some strong direct light and that plate was getting mostly reflection...or it could be that my brain was compensating.

I'm sure some of this has to do with my not knowing much about photography. It's interesting that the Mexican place was flowing with orange but didn't go all flat.

I'll go back again, hopefully within the week, bring some incandescent with me and see if adding more spectrum changes things. Thanks for pointing it out, LCTorana. Interesting.

I also want to find out the cost on that guitar player painting. I like the perspective on that.

 

[Icebreak]

I like the way this folk singer's pic turned out except the blur on her fingers makes them look gigantic. The auto white got the colors correct. The hair is dead on.

 

[Icebreak]

Uggg. I see it on a big monitor now. I need more skill or an SLR or both.

 

[Superdave]

Do these qualify?

1 sec exposure, too bad i didn't have a tripod w/me