TROPICAL NOIR PHOTOGRAPHY COURSE
After spending time in Italy looking at some of the powerful paintings by Caravaggio I began to understand the chiaroscuro (light & shadow) lighting he had used to create his great works of art. I began to discovering this same intense light and shadow naturally occuring on the streets of Rome, particularly in winter when I was there teaching.
Seen through chiaroscuro eyes the look is very similar to what we know from the cinema world as Film Noir.
See here a video montage of some of my shots
I came back to Playa del Carmen recently with the idea that the Riviera Maya might be an interesting location to capture through Noir eyes.
I am beginning a photography course to explore this approach. Without the distraction of color in an image we immediately see the power of composition more clearly.
A good example was with this image.
When making the image I was initially more conscious of the changing colors of the sun, and less aware of the people watching, although I could see I had an interesting silhouette in high contrast. As a converted noir image the composition is I think more revealing about the people present as 'The Sunrise Watches' than another color picture of a beautiful sunrise.
