Awakening to the Light

The easiest way for me to explain the way of seeing that transformed how I work is with a photograph. This image of a mannequin standing alone on a downtown sidewalk exemplifies how being aware of the light led me to create one of my favorite photographs.

It was an early morning in downtown Los Angeles, on Broadway, a street that has become one of my favorite locations for photography. I was walking south on the west side of the street. I had chosen to walk there because the morning sun was illuminating patches of the west side of the street, while the east side was relegated to shadow. I knew I wanted to work with the warm, direct sunlight, even before I had discovered a subject to photograph. By paying attention to what was happening with the light, I was already creating an opportunity to take advantage of it once I discovered a subject.