Last weekend, my family and I went to see the touring show of The Lion King. If you haven’t gone, then you simply have to find a way of getting to this show. It took all of 5 seconds into the first scene and I was hooked. Those of you who have seen it will understand…when the giraffes enter the stage…you had me at “Hello”. We first saw this show four years ago when it came to town, and I couldn’t wait to go back when the show came through this way again.
It’s not only the giraffes and the spectacular costumes and puppets that caught my eye. The scenery was inspiring. Looking at anything inspiring should…well, inspire you. As a photographer and a slave to visual imagery, I find inspiration in all things around me. Big or small, long or short, high or low. Artists can and should be inspired by whatever they happen across. By the way the light strikes a shape, or the way two objects interplay with each other.
The magicians that create stage scenery are truly artists. The way they transform two-dimensional flats into textured, three-dimensional worlds, and the way they build three-dimensional sets that glide on and off the stage silently and quickly between scenes. The first time I saw The Lion King, I loved the way they re-created Pride Rock, which moved on and off the stage by remote radio control. But the thing that I took home with me was their version of the setting and rising sun. Simple slats of wood and fabric in the shape of the sun arranged together like venetian blinds that rose off the floor to mimic the rising sun, in front of a deep glowing orange sky and distant mountains.
While soaking up the sounds of the Circle of Life, I was determining how and why I would replicate this rising/setting sun and mountains in my studio. Let's fast-forward to December of last year, I was looking for objects around the house to photograph in my studio. I came across three angels that were set out as holiday decorations. The three angels reminded me of the three wise men, who set out across the desert following a star bringing the gifts of gold, frankincence and….wait a minute, hold the phone. A desert?…nighttime?…stars?….THE LION KING!
I grabbed the angels and set out across the desert to my studio. Black seamless paper in the back of my studio became my sky. My mind started racing. An orange sunset? No. A twilight sky several minutes after the sun had set? Yeah....just before the stars came out. A small softbox fitted with a purple gel sat on the floor and pointed up towards the sky background, emanating that rich bluish-purple royal sky that welcomes night time. I cut out a mountain range from grey paper and hung it between two light stands a couple of feet in front of the sky. These would be my distant mountains. The angels were then placed on an old wooden box and lit with a large softbox that was scrimmed so that light only hit the angels. The image was framed so that the purple sky was lit up behind the mountain range, which became a silhouette behind he angels.
This is the image that was inspired by the geniuses that created the sets on The Lion King, which I first saw four years ago. How did I get from an African setting sun in the Auditorium Theatre to this? Pure and simply: inspiration. You should be able to find it anywhere. Pay attention to the light, smells and sounds or everything around you. Seeing that I can’t photograph smells and sounds, I let those memories of visions marinate in my head until I can give them an outlet. And when it works, I feel like the king of the jungle. Well…at least of my studio.
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