Social media has been buzzing over recent weeks, as the lighting industry's leading designers undertook the 'Let There Be Light Challenge'.
The Challenge:
Everyday for 7 days you post a photo outlining a 'personal experience with light'.
At the end of that week, you then nominate someone else to take up the challenge!
7 days, 7 photos, 7 titles.
Lightivity founder Richard Cameron, shares his own personal experiences in the posts below:
Day 1 : “Home”
"Looking back, growing up in the Highlands of Scotland subliminally forged my love of light and lighting. At any given time, the surrounding natural light can change in moments, bringing spectacular visual drama and life to the unique Scottish landscape.
This is where my personal experience with light begins…".
Day 2 : “My Force Awakens”
"From time to time, people ask me how I got into lighting design.
Thinking about it, it probably goes back to when I was a young kid, circa 1980 when ‘Star Wars : The Empire Strikes Back’ came out!
The production & set design in that movie is amazing, but it was the lighting in ‘Cloud City’ that really resonated with me. It’s amazing. Even watching it back, 40 years later, I still love it.
It wasn’t until much later in life that I became aware that lighting design was a ‘thing’, but looking back, this movie was a defining moment in my journey toward the ‘light & dark side’".
Day 3 : “Poet of Light”
"It wasn’t until I was studying at Grays School of Art & Design in the early 90’s, that I discovered that lighting design was a ‘thing’.
I remember being in the library and picking up a random book about Ingo Maurer, the German Industrial designer who specialised in the design of lamps and light installations.
This was the first time I had seen light being used as a feature element, a piece of art and something you could ‘experience’ and ‘interact’ with, rather than just something you switch on/off to light your room.
Picking up this book was the ‘game changer’ and the moment I wanted to become a lighting designer. Sadly, Ingo passed away at the end of last year, but his legacy lives on through his amazing work and those he inspired to ‘play with light’".
Day 4 : “Panton”
"Panton has influenced me as a designer since I first came across his work in the early 90’s. His use of form, shape, colour and of course light always looked stunning, especially in these crazy immersive environments he created.
He considered how light would help enhance his spaces, the shapes he formed and the experiences he created. For me that is what lighting design is all about - enhancing spaces, places and experiences with light".
Day 5 : “Sanibel Sunset”
"Sanibel is a place I’ve been lucky enough to visit a few times where the sun sinks slowly into the sea on a nightly basis.
It’s an amazing visual spectacle of colour, drama and changing natural light. It’s one of the best sunsets you will find anywhere. For me, its light in its purest natural beauty".
Day 6 : “The Thin Blue Line”
Let’s look after it. 🌍
Day 7 : “Community”
"It’s the last day of the ‘Let There Be Light Challenge’ for me and I’ve enjoyed writing about some of my own personal experiences with light.
I’ve been involved with light and lighting for nearly 25years and during that time I’ve had the privilege to be involved in all kinds of different lighting projects, here in the UK and around the world.
The lighting industry is really more of a ‘community’, full of great people from all walks of life, gifted with an array of creative & technical talents.
The recent ‘Let There Be Light Challenge’ has again shown me how collaborative and supportive the lighting community is to one another and being part of this unique community has been my favourite personal experience of all.
Light has put us all on a common path - to enhance the built environment through the use of light. So here’s to many more personal experiences with light & lighting!".
