"Gravel Pits" and Such: Subseries of Vibrant Night (Light Painting Landscapes)

"Gravel Pits" and Such: Subseries of Vibrant Night (Light Painting Landscapes) Re: The encompassing body of work, "Vibrant Night." I have specialized in landscape light painting photography for over a half decade. My primary focus has been on nature areas of the American Southwest, mainly Texas. (It includes structures in or by them such as bridges and roads.) This has formed a substantial series/body-of-work which I call “Vibrant Night,” both for its uncommon stylistic approach to nature’s night (which I typically stylize as vibrantly colored and sometimes a bit otherworldly or surreal) – and also for the other meaning of “vibrant” which is alive with vigor and energy. I search for scenes which are evocative and arouse emotions in me -- most preferably, feelings of awe or wonder. Beyond this, I prize scenes that seem rich in pareidolia (illusions of resembling other things) and those that readily suggest visual metaphors to me. And then I strive to stylize them expressionistically. In the spirit of Richard Misrach and his "Desert Cantos," I consider “Vibrant Night” to be a lifelong project that includes “subseries” of specific terrains or narratives and even more specific “studies” within them.) I see them as analogous to chapters of a book on the encompassing body of work (which I'm working towards.) Depending on the subseries, my aim is mainly aesthetic, where I explore techniques of light painting (e.g., lights of different color temperatures) and extensive post-processing to enhance my subject. My greatest pleasure from this work is either to add freshness to an icon scene – or, even better, to reveal the hidden beauty of a nondescript scene. Metaphorically, my work reminds me that everything – including people – can seem different if seen in a different light. Re: The specific subseries presented here: "Gravel Pits and Such" No subseries metaphorically illustrates these latter concepts more than my "Gravel Pit" subseries/studies. [Note: I use the term "gravel pit" loosely since in the current additions to the subseries, these dune-like hills may include other materials, such as crushed glass, etc.] Firstly, these "gravel" hills/piles, though possessing artistic potential in their formal properties, are not merely nondescript -- some people consider them quite unattractive. So, transforming them, by light painting, into objects of beauty, is a potent metaphor for a conceptual theme of this work: the benefits of "seeing things in a different light." Secondly, the existing neutral color of most artificial hills here allowed me to maximize the potential for creative color in my light painting investigations. Third, the "gravel pit" subseries aligns with a subgenre of landscape photography: "altered landscapes" -- which depicts the impact of human activity on natural landscapes. Of course, the style and aesthetics of my work (which is not strictly documentary) are quite different from most of that work. And the dramatic irony of my work in revealing potential beauty in subjects regardless of whether or not they are beneficial -- is heightened here. However, that irony exists throughout ""altered landscape" art to varying degrees, especially where particular depictions are striking or highly beautiful (e.g., Edward Burtynsky's work) -- and has been grappled with by many. To me, art that invites the eye and creates dissonance in the mind can best provoke discussion. My first set of gravel pits (available as a project -- "Gravel Pit Study..." on my LensCulture portfolio site) were taken the backcountry of North Texas from a large commercial gravel pit. You might give them a glance. (www.lensculture.com/projects/517472-gravel-pit-study-from-vibrant.) The current additions were taken by nature areas of the Chihuahuan desert in far West Texas. They seemed to blend well with the natural environment and included instances of recycling and sustainable resource management. If you wish to see how this work on "gravel pits" and related meshes with the encompassing body of work, "Vibrant Night," I have also published on LensCulture my portfolio review materials from the 2018 Biennial FotoFest (www.lensculture.com/ron-levy?modal=project-689079-show-for-my-fotofest-2018-port).