I love lighting, well who doesn't? Well, I guess those vampire tweens in the Twilight movie, but even they are exposed to overcast lighting. Lighting plays an important role in two of my favorite things: architecture and photography. How much and at what angle light is emitted can largely effect how we perceive objects. Additionally, the type of lighting, whether it's natural daylighting, incandescent or fluorescent bulbs, can effect what is perceived. When we look at a green frog, we are really seeing every light in the visible spectrum being absorbed into the frog except green. Green is reflected back and is what our eyes see.
Below are some of the best examples of daylighting used to express architectural elements. In museums and churches, lighting is used to suggest a hierarchy or an order of importance within the space. The direction of lighting adds texture and cast shadows. Many sculptures are better viewed in this type of light rather than a diffuse uniform light source.
Guggenheim, New York City
image from guggenheim website
Notre Dame Du Haut, Ron Champ, France by Le Corbusier
Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Tx by Louis Kahn
image by Kimberly Payne
Church of the Light, Ibaraki, Japan - Tadao Ando
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