Gail Sheley-Davenport likes to play with light. More specifically, she likes to capture what light can do. Like the way it trails and blurs, the way it blends with other colors and bends. Haven’t seen light do that? Most people don’t. Fortunately, Davenport coaxes light to move in beautiful dances and captures it in pictures. She’ll feature her images of cascading colors this month at Gold Coast Art ‘n Frames.
Sheley-Davenport first stumbled upon her now-favorite photo subject almost by accident. She was cleaning out her “junk drawers,” filled with odds and ends, when she stumbled upon some of her kids’ light sticks. Her children began playing with them, and Sheley-Davenport brought out her camera to capture the moment.
An idea took shape. She realized the light sticks actually looked pretty interesting.
She began taking pictures with her Canon Powershot camera specifically to capture the light sticks, using a slow shutter speed. She began to play with focus and angles in order to create different effects.
“Whether I move toward it or tilt the camera, it can affect how the picture turns out,” she explained. “It’s fun—and a little tiring.”
The process of getting all the factors right to produce an awesome piece can take some time. After practicing for years, however, Davenport has learned a few shortcuts.
“I’ve learned how close I should be and which angles I should use,” she said.
Sheley-Davenport began to delve into her artistic side in recent years. Growing up, she was never really into art.
“I was more of a musician than an artist,” she admitted. “Before the age of 35, I couldn’t even draw a stick figure correctly.”
Then life threw a curveball. At the same time, however, life did what it usually does: It opened a new door for her to walk through. While navigating a rough patch in her life, she began journaling—so much so that she was filling up stacks of notebooks. She needed another way to work through her emotions. She began painting, and from there, a whole new world opened up to her. The new endeavor was a stress release and opened her eyes to her artistic talents.
Sheley-Davenport eventually began to develop an interest in photography. She explored landscapes and vineyards through a lens. When she discovered her affinity for creating works of photographic art with light sticks, she began to concentrate on that.
Her children’s efforts informed some of her early shots.
“When I first started, they’d help me a lot,” she said. “I’d wrap the light sticks around 3-D movie glasses, and we’d go into the garage and turn out the lights and they’d sword fight with them. That was three years ago, and now they are in their teens and they are like, ‘Oh, no—Mom is getting out the light sticks.’”
These days, Sheley-Davenport’s work with light has evolved. Along with the light sticks, she now uses nightlights and EL Wire that comes from Japan and lasts longer than regular light sticks. She recently took about 400 pictures, and the hardest part, she admitted, is choosing which ones she likes best.
Arts Editor Shelly Cone has an inner glow. Send comments to scone@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jun 9-16, 2011.
