photo studies

light dance origins

A night with campfire

Me and some people spent a night at a pirate camp in Poland, near Usedom.

As I watched the campfire, as always drawn to the flickering flames, I picked up the camera, wondering how it would catch the flame.

light dance origins & first attempts by Charlie Alice Raya, 2010/11

Then I moved the camera while taking the shot.

Intrigued by the results with the flames, I went looking for other light sources.

light dance origins & first attempts by Charlie Alice Raya, 2010/11

And found it wound around a lonely pole.

This was my first encounter with fairy lights in connection with playing with light.

light dance origins & first attempts by Charlie Alice Raya, 2010/11
light dance origins & first attempts by Charlie Alice Raya, 2010/11
light dance origins & first attempts by Charlie Alice Raya, 2010/11
light dance origins & first attempts by Charlie Alice Raya, 2010/11

Two weeks later, I went to the Berlin Festival of Lights.

Some intriguing pictures are the result of that tour.

And yet, it was the fairy lights that kept popping up in my mind.

I wanted to experiment with them again, and kept on the lookout for them.

light dance origins & first attempts by Charlie Alice Raya, 2010/11

At some point I decided to simply buy myself a set of fairy lights and play with them at home.

Months passed.

But in March 2011, I did my first experiments. Only with red this time.

light dance origins & first attempts by Charlie Alice Raya, 2010/11
light dance origins & first attempts by Charlie Alice Raya, 2010/11
light dance origins & first attempts by Charlie Alice Raya, 2010/11
light dance origins & first attempts by Charlie Alice Raya, 2010/11

After my first steps, I became interested in the interaction between my face and the lights. And later my body and the lights.

light dance origins & first attempts by Charlie Alice Raya, 2010/11
light dance origins & first attempts by Charlie Alice Raya, 2010/11
light dance origins & first attempts by Charlie Alice Raya, 2010/11
light dance origins & first attempts by Charlie Alice Raya, 2010/11
light dance origins & first attempts by Charlie Alice Raya, 2010/11
light dance origins & first attempts by Charlie Alice Raya, 2010/11
light dance origins & first attempts by Charlie Alice Raya, 2010/11

And then I began to dance with the lights /:-), drunk with Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake.

light dance origins & first attempts by Charlie Alice Raya, 2010/11
light dance origins & first attempts by Charlie Alice Raya, 2010/11
light dance origins & first attempts by Charlie Alice Raya, 2010/11
light dance origins & first attempts by Charlie Alice Raya, 2010/11
light dance origins & first attempts by Charlie Alice Raya, 2010/11
light dance origins & first attempts by Charlie Alice Raya, 2010/11

Despite loving the light dance results, it took almost three months, before I picked up the fairy lights again, and danced again. This time several nights.

Published light dance series:

light dance in 15 pieces

light dance, the first reds

light dance, blues

light dance, greens

light dance, blues & greens merged

Special on the Hub

A story in light dance images

and on the book stations website

A story in light dance images, background

photo series, light dance, Berlin, 2011, by Charlie Alice Raya