Lumen, Shadows, & Chroma = Levine, Mandell & Parnes at Mission Trails Regional Park

by Joe Nalven

Each year Mission Trails Regional Park presents a new group of visual art exhibits ─ sometimes an individual artist, more often an interesting selection of artists.

Dana Levine, Eileen Mandell and Dana Parnes bring together an interesting selection of their photography, playing with aspects of light, shadows and color: Lumen, Shadows & Chroma.

Lumen, Shadows, & Chroma    Mission Trails Regional Park    Visitor Center:   1 Father Junipero Serra Trail, San Diego    Directions: www.mtrp.org     Phone:  619-668-3281    March 1 through March 28, 9 am - 5 pm    Artists' reception on March 9 from 1 - 4 pm      If you have never visited Mission Trails Regional Park, bring     walking shoes and wander the trails.

I wasn't sure exactly how Levine, Mandell and Parnes were using the elements of light, shadows and color in their photography. So, I asked each of them to provide an image from the exhibit and explore their use of lumen, shadows and chroma. Quite an interesting exploration ─ and an invitation to see the show and to walk the trails of the regional park.

Dana Levine 

Dana Levine / Yellow Orchid

Dana Levine:  Yellow Orchid was one of the first botanical images I created in my symmetry series, in which I combine one photograph with its mirror image. The result is a photograph with new shapes and patterns, much more interesting than the original. Here, lumen, or light, softly bathes the cup of the flower and its side yellow leaves. Parts of the background are brightly lit, allowing the flower to come to the front of the picture plane. Green leaves of nearby plants are out of focus; they make shadows of mid to darker tones that let the eye concentrate on the orchid. The flower is a soft lemony yellow against green-gray foliage. Cool yellows and cool greens are chroma of adjacent colors on the color wheel - a very harmonious palette. Symmetry, with an emphasis on lumen, shadows, and chroma, produces a beautiful, appealing photograph of a flower.

Eileen Mandell

Eileen Mandell /  Built for Speed

Eileen Mandell:  Standing in the middle of a canyon with more than a dozen horses barreling down on me was not something I ever thought I would do. It was certainly an experience in trust. As I stood there, leaning into the small bush behind me, I just held my breath and kept clicking away- taking as many photographs as possible as the horses veered to the right and left of me. As this one particular horse came from the shadows into the light, he was moving so fast, and was heading right toward me. I wasn’t certain that he would turn. It was a photographic experience I will never forget. When I finally got a chance to look at the photographs on a large screen, I realized this was the image to best express the strength and speed of all of the horses. I tried to design the details to incorporate that movement. In the moment that the horses passed me by, I didn’t get a chance to look closely at the color, but again, looking back at the photographs, I was amazed at how the camera picked up all the reflected light, and how the colors of the horses was so much more varied than one would think.

These equine photographs express the movement and detail, light, shadow, and color, that I search for in my naturescapes as well.

Dana Parnes

Dana Parnes / Sailing Among the Tall Ships in San Diego (detail)

Dana Parnes:  What an exhilarating way to spend time enjoying the Pacific Ocean. This was a spectacular day for me – to combine two passions: sailing and photography. All under the beautiful San-Diego-Blue sky, which was almost clear this day – only a few clouds floating gently above the horizon. The sunlight shining brightly reflected on the water creating a beautiful luminosity on the ocean, which illuminated the shadows and details of the magnificent Star of India and her sister ships. The sails and striking colors of the ship are highlighted creating an almost three-dimensional view and a pure painterly chroma. To experience our local tall ships from the perspective of the sea, as we sailed amongst each other was a magical experience. I was sailing on a friend’s vessel, the Aquamarine II. The wind was perfect and our sails led us peacefully wherever our hearts desired to be. Panoramic Photography is an artistic technique I am focusing on in a current collection. The Maritime Museum of San Diego features a world-class collection of historic vessels.