Honorable Mention
City Strife
DESCRIPTION
This is an unusual photo for me: My major, inclusive body of work “Vibrant Night (Light Painting Landscapes)” mainly involves photography of nature areas and nearby structures such as gravel pits and bridges (which typically serve as portals for my journeys into surreal worlds of nature.) Now of course there are nature areas within cities, but I seldom include parts of the city in the shot. I want to escape cities because, for me, they represent conflict and stress. In a way, this is the reason for my “Vibrant Night” journeys into nature. So, one night in Austin, Texas, while photographing a small nature area nestled under a bridge, it occurred to me that I might be able to depict this reason by showing the bridge and a skyscraper looming over it as if they were living beings attacking each other. And this would also represent a universal conflict between civilization and nature. I created this shot "in camera" by using a form of light painting I occasionally use: camera movement. AUTHOR
Ron S. Levy is a fine art landscape photographer, residing in Houston, Texas, who currently specializes in night photography using "light painting." A graduate of Amherst College with a B.A. and University of Rochester with a Ph.D., Ron has studied photography on his own to this day.His main light painting body-of-work since 2013, "Vibrant Night: Light Painting Landscapes" typically explores nature areas in Texas (mainly) at night and its “border” zones. He uses long exposures, lights of different color temperatures, and extensive post-processing to convey what was in his mind’s eye. Conceptually, the work embraces the value of “cognitive reframing” (ie., seeing things “in a different light.”) Major subseries include “Abstract Beings in Nature,” “Gravel Pits and Such,” “Ponds of Stone,” "The Mountains of East Texas (There Are No Mountains in East Texas)," plus limited studies (e.g. "Contemplated Journeys of Immobile Objects," and an extensive adjunct series, “The Nature of Bridges.” Samples from some of these might be seen here; nearly all belong to his encompassing body-of-work, regardless of entry category. Full series, variations, and artist statements can be found on his portfolio site, www.LensCulture.com/ron-levy.
