God's first words in the Book of Genesis are "Let there be light," but the view of Los Angeles at nighttime suggests that man might just as well have created light for himself. Andrew Samuels '14 plays with luminescence in his photograph, "Los Angeles," in which he utilizes an extended exposure to depict the artificial glow of L.A. at night as ripples of color across the frame.
Samuels' work is currently on display in the Roth Center's student photography exhibition, "Let There Be Light." The show aims to draw parallels between light as an important theme of Judaism and as a temporal element worth photographically capturing in its most dynamic forms. The dynamic personality of light is represented and examined through varying uses of light that are featured in each of the photographs, ranging from artificial light, to back light to the light emanating from a sunrise.
Although Samuels' photography constitutes the majority of the exhibition, the works of Matt Garczynski '14, Ittai Eres '14 and Orli Kleiner '12 are on display as well. Samuels initiated and curated the exhibition. He proposed the exhibit to Hillel, solicited submissions from other students and selected the photographs he saw fit for the exhibition, Samuels said.
"In Judaism, we are presented with all forms of light from Shabbat candles to God's first words in Genesis and I tried to tie in multiple forms of light in the photographs I included in the show," Samuels said.
The exhibition is notable for its variety while each image tangentially refers to the theme of light, there is no pattern in the subject matter.
Eres' photography is a product of the gap-year he spent in Israel. One particularly striking image is "Arad's Desert Sky," in which Eres captures a brilliant sky outside of the desert city of Arad, Israel. The intensity of the color saturation is a result of photographing the scene through "Blue Blocker" sunglasses, which amplify light effects, Eres said.
Another noteworthy photograph in the exhibition is Samuels' "Melded Forest," in which he uses a slow shutter speed to meld forest elements, composing a striking arrangement of colorful skylight that converges into a brilliant white center.
Samuels took the photograph during his Dartmouth Outing Club First-Year Trip. His selected works also include images of New York City landmarks, such as the New York Public Library, and the natural vistas of Denver.
The images in "Let There Be Light" create something of a travelogue leading exhibition-goers from Israel to Mount Moosilauke.
Samuels has been taking photos for seven years. He took the photos in the exhibit with a Nikon D90 and several Nikon lenses. This is the first photography show for the other students. Garczynski, for instance, is self-taught he grew up experimenting with his dad's camera.
"Let There Be Light" will be on view through May 13.
