Fire has played a crucial role in humanity for millennia. It’s allowed us to cook, construct, and keep warm. But this essential element is also the cause of major destruction — as witnessed by the increase in wildfires all over the world, which the UN Environment Program attributes to climate change.

One witness — and documenter — of this trend is Los Angeles-based multimedia artist Kevin Cooley, who has spent the last decade capturing images of fire — both wild and controlled.

“I photograph these sort of disasters and I try to make them almost beautiful,” said Cooley, “but that’s how you can bring attention to them.”

Cooley’s work aims to highlight our relationship with the environment as well as the effects of climate change. He’s photographed the wildfires right outside his doorstep in California that nearly took his home, a wastewater spill in Colorado, and the declining water reservoirs in Arizona.

“It’s nature, we’re not in control of it as much as we like to think that we are,” he said, adding that he hopes his work can “help us think more about its power, its beauty and how we can respect it.”

Cooley largely focuses on the elements — earth, wind, water and fire — that he enhances with a light source that he either actively introduces himself, or passively introduces through objects like airplanes flying through the sky, he said.

Light, he believes, brings a certain importance to the banality of objects and situations, “highlighting things that would otherwise go unnoticed in everyday life,” he added.

Capturing the power of nature

“I’ve been working with light for the past 25 years in a variety of ways,” Cooley said, including the use of lasers, flashlights, fireworks, old flashbulbs, flares, and even smoke plumes.

– Source:
CNN
” data-fave-thumbnails=”{“big”: { “uri”: “https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/231129154054-03-kcooley.jpg?c=16×9&q=h_540,w_960,c_fill” }, “small”: { “uri”: “https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/231129154054-03-kcooley.jpg?c=16×9&q=h_540,w_960,c_fill” } }” data-vr-video=”false” data-show-html=”” data-byline-html=”

Mark Tutton

” data-check-event-based-preview data-network-id data-details>

Video Ad Feedback

How this photographer uses light to illuminate our relationship with the planet

00:50

– Source:
CNN

In his photo series “Controlled Burns,” Cooley used strobe lights to freeze the movement of pyrotechnic smoke and turn it into menacing sculptures, he said. The photographs are a visual statement about “our desire to control nature.”

But lately, Cooley finds himself drawn to a different element, with lower risks.

“In 2021, at the Caldor Fire [in California], I had a very harrowing experience and I kind of decided that maybe I shouldn’t be photographing fire so much and it was getting a little taxing, just always being around the smoke,” he explained. At the same time, California was in the middle of an extreme drought, which sparked his interesting in photographing water.

Using flashlights, strobe lights and even drones, Cooley takes long exposure photos of the ocean that illuminate the tides, and ebb and flow of the current, he said.

“I recently read that two-thirds of California beaches are going to disappear, and that’s part of the reason why I am wanting to do this project about the waves,” he said, “to bring attention to that.”

Cooley sees the ocean as an ally in the fight against climate change – citing its power as a carbon sink and source of energy that can come from waves.

“We have to kind of harness (nature) in a way that we can find a nice balance between what we need as humans and also what the planet can tolerate,” he said, “to ensure that there will be a space left for the future generations.”

How this photographer uses light to illuminate our relationship with the planet

Visual artist Kevin Cooley uses various light sources to create captivating photographs of nature.

Apple has just rolled out a compelling advertisement for the latest iPhone 15 series, putting the spotlight on its exceptional camera capabilities, particularly the groundbreaking Smart Portrait mode. This innovative iPhone 15 feature empowers users to dynamically adjust the focus on different subjects in a photo, even after the image has been captured. Notably, this functionality is available for both standard and portrait images. In a 1 minute 49-second video, Apple vividly demonstrates the Smart Portrait mode in action. The footage captures a band in the process of creating their album cover, with one member utilising the iPhone 15 to edit a group photo.

Through the Portrait subject focus adjustment, this individual accentuates herself in the foreground while artfully blurring her bandmates in the background. Also read: Cyber Monday sale: This iPhone 15 deal will give you $300 back

In a captivating twist, another bandmate takes control, modifying the image to centre on himself and intentionally blurring out the others. A playful argument ensues over which version to choose, ultimately resolved by the third member, who opts to emphasise himself while obscuring the background.

iPhone 15 Smart Portrait Mode

Smart Portrait Mode on iPhone 15 extends its prowess beyond portraits, recognising the presence of people, animals, or objects in regular photos. This transformative capability remains effective even in photos taken without activating the portrait mode. By accessing the “Edit” interface and tapping the aperture icon, users can seamlessly adjust background blur using an intuitive slider. For photos with multiple subjects, changing the focus is as simple as tapping on the desired person or object.

Notably, Apple had earlier highlighted the iPhone 15’s Personal Voice feature in a separate video. This feature leverages machine learning to replicate the user’s voice, as showcased in an emotionally charged scenario where an individual who had lost their voice narrates a story to a child with the help of an iPhone.

Editing Portraits on iPhone

In the Photos app, users have the power to customise and fine-tune lighting effects, depth of field, and the focus point of their portraits. Additionally, portrait effects can be applied to photos captured in Photo mode.

Changing the Focus Point of a Portrait

Achieving dynamic focus control in portraits is seamless with the Focus Control feature. Follow these steps:

1. Open the Photos app on your iPhone.

2. Tap any portrait to view it in full screen, then tap Edit.

3. Choose a new subject or focus point in the photo.

4. Tap Done.

Note: This feature is available on portraits taken on iPhone 13 models and later, running iOS 16 or later.