Creating with Polarised Light
My grandfather began his work with polarised light in the late 1950's (once colour enlarging was available to him), commencing with photomicrographs of crystals deposited on glass plates - which showed brilliant yellow, blue and brown hues in spiky, swirling patterns.
He then experimented with other materials which would create colour on polarisation and, using a set-up which involved several glass levels and a downward pointing camera, he had an ideal system for 'playing with light'.
He found that pieces of colourless or sometimes coloured cellophane provided a versatile medium for the creation of a wide range of interesting and often beautiful images.
For example, 'Seraph' was created from cellophane, mechanical bits, and pieces of nylon thread;
'Whiskerando' forms a bold mosaic of red, green and blue on a dark background; and 'Phoenix' involved cellophane, bits of plastic, glass beads, buttons and a design on a large glass plate. He created many images in this way - some based on identifiable forms, others increasingly abstract.
The Photographic Society of America Journal of April 1963 featured his article titled 'Creating with Polarized Light' (29, 21-24)
If you would like a copy of this article, you can click on the link below.
PSA article
He then experimented with other materials which would create colour on polarisation and, using a set-up which involved several glass levels and a downward pointing camera, he had an ideal system for 'playing with light'.
He found that pieces of colourless or sometimes coloured cellophane provided a versatile medium for the creation of a wide range of interesting and often beautiful images.
For example, 'Seraph' was created from cellophane, mechanical bits, and pieces of nylon thread;
'Whiskerando' forms a bold mosaic of red, green and blue on a dark background; and 'Phoenix' involved cellophane, bits of plastic, glass beads, buttons and a design on a large glass plate. He created many images in this way - some based on identifiable forms, others increasingly abstract.
The Photographic Society of America Journal of April 1963 featured his article titled 'Creating with Polarized Light' (29, 21-24)
If you would like a copy of this article, you can click on the link below.
PSA article