An-My Lê's Small Wars (rescue)
image taken from: http://www.pbs.org/art21/images/an-my-l%C3%AA/small-wars-rescue-1999-2002?slideshow=1
Despite the fact that this is a lighting blog I wanted to post about this photograph to remind myself that light isn't the only thing that makes a piece great. Light has to work with the other elements in a composition and when those elements and the lighting interact with each other the results are far greater than the sum of their parts. An-My Lê's Small Wars (rescue) has some truly marvelous lighting and atmosphere, but Lê was only able to obtain that light by manipulating the environment. What I love about this piece is the way the dust and smoke catches the light and spreads it throughout the photograph. On its own light can't do this it needs to bounce off of the smoke to illuminate the photograph this way and the dreamy fuzzy result is due to these two elements working together. As a lighting designer you need to remember that the environment your working in can help you light a scene just as effectively as the light source you use.
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