Toshio Shibata

In the feedback to Assignment Three, my tutor, Robert Enoch, suggested I look at the work of Toshio Shibata in relation to light.  Shibata's work is about the drama of natural forces against man-made structures, and in particular dams. Stunning images, almost abstract in nature, the use of light and slow shutter speed creates a really dramatic quality.  It's hard to pick out individual examples to comment on as they are all quite similar in terms of subject and impact, but each amazing - better to just look at google images as the collective impact is quite .  I would love to see these in large format prints as I can image them to be overwhelming.  But, one aspect, I really like is the views of the dams looking down the cascade (how did he get this?):

(c) Toshio Shibata

In this image, the contrast between light and dark is stunning - with the light enhanced by the slow shutter speed allowing the water movement to be blurred and enhance hte reflections.  The composition is also very interesting with the contrast between light and dark on the horizontal thirds and then a symmetrical composition between light and dark in the bottom section.