Why Light Is My Subject in Photography
What’s poppin, people? It’s Dante. The world is so open.
There’s so much to do, to see, to explore, and to photograph.
I mean, it is such an abundantly beautiful world out here.
Check out the beautiful view of the Fairmount Water Works — standing atop the cliff, catching that sunset. Seems like there’s a wedding. Yeah.
Light Is My Subject
Today I’m thinking about light — and why I treat light as my subject in photography, and what this means to me.
“Photography — photo meaning light, graphé meaning writing or drawing — is the act of writing with light.”
When I’m out here with my camera, I treat each frame like an instant sketch of light itself. And that’s a very empowering thought.
Because no matter where I am, no matter what I see —
the photograph I make will never be the same.
Light is always changing. It’s always in flux,
like the river flowing endlessly in the Schuylkill.
Same Path, Different Light
I can walk the same lane, follow the same path,
stand at the same vantage point,
look at my shadow at the same time of day — over and over again.
And still make something new.
There’s something so beautiful about recognizing change through light.
“Photography becomes a search for truth through light itself.”
Not Reality — Abstraction
When I’m making photographs, I’m not trying to depict reality.
I’m abstracting it.
Light becomes not only the subject — but also the medium.
When light casts upon surfaces, when it emanates through my lens,
touches the sensor and forms an image — it’s a beautiful lie.
It’s not showing life as it truly is.
Looking at my shadow down there —
that’s actually really beautiful. I’m gonna make a photo of that.
“Photographs are like casting shadows on the wall.”
It’s not reality — it’s an abstraction of it.
And when I shoot in high-contrast black and white,
with the contrast settings cranked to the absolute max —
it’s like I’ve got x-ray vision, looking beyond the veil.
Evoking Feeling, Not Stories
I’m not trying to capture a moment or a story.
I’m trying to evoke what it feels like to exist.
“I want to make a photograph that evokes a sensual, emotional experience for the viewer.”
Using light as my subject and medium is a return to the essence of photography.
And by doing that —
maybe I’m also chipping away at life,
and revealing the eternal forms of beauty itself.
I Follow the Sun
I literally orient myself toward the sun.
I don’t have a plan. No preconceived notion of what I’ll find.
I just follow the light.
- The way it casts across a bench
- The shadows on the floor
- The glow of leaves held up to sunlight
- The macro details of nature
- The vastness of trees
- The humanity of people
All of it — touched by light.
Photography becomes meditation —
a practice of presence, a spark of bliss.
Light Heals and Creates
Sunlight kisses the skin.
Vitamin D, UV rays — they awaken the body.
They synthesize hormones, make me feel strong.
While I’m photographing, I’m affirming life.
“There’s this feeling you get when you create something — it’s godlike.”
Light created the universe. Light created me.
So when I return to nature — to trees, to birds, to pinecones —
I’m reminded:
“God is within everything. Everything that light touches bears God’s divine signature.”
The Soul in Others
Look into someone’s eyes — and you see their soul.
There’s a light within us all.
“When you recognize the light within another person, it charges your soul like a tuning fork striking the heart.”
And when you see someone else as a divine creation,
you feel an overwhelming love for humanity —
for flowers, animals, people, plants, everything.
Following light brings you back to this:
a reverence for the essence of all things.
Eternal Light
No, maybe we can’t live forever.
But a photograph? A photograph might.
“When I photograph, I hope to evoke my soul in the image. If the soul dies when we die — then maybe we can live forever through the act of creation.”
So keep walking.
Follow the straight and narrow path.
Follow the light.