Dilation: A Junior Design Student Conceptual Project by Benjamin Cornell (2017)

The eye is immediately attracted to the most bright and vibrant object in the frame. In this case, the fire seems to pop from the dark landscape and draw the attention of the viewer instantly. The trail of this flame can be traced to the second object, a bright green leaf, seemingly unaffected by the flame. Curiously, it is also suspended in the air by an unseen force -- just out of reach of the fire which is unable to affect the single presence of life in this shot. Below the flame is a transparent chalice filled with what appears to be wine or some other dark liquid. The surface of this liquid (rubbing alcohol dyed to appear as wine) does appear to be either the source of the fire or the surface the fire is lit upon. Actually, setting up the shot was quite in-depth. A simple plastic chalice was purchased and put on a cold stone surface in the dark of the night. This was then filled with pure rubbing alcohol dyed dark blue. The dye was so it would actually be visible, and the rubbing alcohol was so that the surface would light but the liquid would appear no different than wine. The choice to dye it blue was because, since it was so dark, purple would have been near-black. The dark blue appears like a dark purple after consideration of the light. Then, before lighting the alcohol, I took a piece of fishing line and strung it across the shot so that it hung directly over the cup. In the darkness it was completely invisible. The leaf was easily fastened onto the line and left to hang delicately over the chalice. The camera was set up so as to frame the entire chalice, flame, and leaf. The whole image was positioned off to the left of the center of the frame in order to satisfy design principles (rule of thirds). The alcohol is lit and a dancing flame shoots up into the sky. Using a medium to high shutter speed, I was able to capture a still image of the flame with enough detail to trap the beauty of nature while still keeping it blurry enough to feel the motion. The camera was left on continuous to shoot as many shots as possible. The plastic began to melt as the shooting continued, so time was of the essence. The perfect shot was taken where the flame appeared to be going straight towards the leaf, but then abruptly curve out of the way as if its path was deflected. Not only this, but the scene was purposely set up at night to ensure that it would be taken on a dark, near-black background in order to show the contrast of the flame against the darkness. A spotlight (LED -- white light) was shone upon the chalice surrounding it in light and making it stand out from the darkness or even appear as if it is casting the darkness away. Overall, an intentional emphasis on contrast, focus points, and careful positioning led to the composition in question.

When religion comes to mind, it seems obvious that we spring to the idea of a god, creationism, Christ, or any other symbolism of a specific religious organization such as a statue of Buddha. One symbol associated with religious organizations around the world is wine. In this composition, the famed beverage is shown held by a chalice and alit by a flame. Although the use of wine in this context can be interpreted in a near infinite number of ways, the way it was specifically intended in this composition was meant to show the blood or flesh of a god in question. This is clearly inspired by Christian religion, but I do not wish to confine it to Jesus Christ only, but instead to whatever god or presence is believed by the viewer. This wine is meant to lead the viewer to the conclusion that, since the blood (wine) of this god is on fire, it is logical to assume that this may be a sacrifice of sorts. As if the god is sacrificing its blood and flesh to something or someone. To summarize; the idea of god is shown through the representation of sacrifice and the sacrifice is shown through wine which is in turn a representation for the blood of said god. From this blood erupts a flame which brightness suddenly pops from the pitch black background. This is a stark representation of shock in which the emotion is conveyed through this sudden experience. This was intentionally highlighted through the change in brightness from the totally dark background to the blinding fire that slowly burns the wine. Already we have established a clear, yet abstract representation of the concept statement; exploring the feeling of shock through the experience of religion. Both of these ideas -- shock and religion -- are represented further by the levitating leaf that is miraculously avoiding a fate of burning. Not only is the leaf floating motionlessly, which is already completely shocking as it defies the laws of physics, but also the leaf seems to be avoiding the flame by some miracle! Not only is miracle associated directly with the acts of religion and god, but the peculiar thing is that the flame is bending away from the leaf rather than the leaf moving away from the flame. Naturally, a fire is exponentially more powerful than a leaf and would envelop it in flame at the very least. Yet, this leaf is protected in such a fashion that the fire bends around the leaf completely. Not only is this a miracle, but it also demonstrates the protection of the leaf by an invisible force. A protective and invisible force that involves the defiance of the laws of science? This leaf clearly appears to be magical, an attribute often associated with religion. With this knowledge the implication is quite clear that the sacrifice of this god is such that it protects life, the leaf, from a destructive and shocking flame. Other interpretations could include that the fire is a representation of hell, the fire is that of god repelling the darkness, or even that the flame is a representation of god betraying life. This composition is what resonates with the viewer. For me, it was the analysis above, for the viewer it vibrance might seem small, but they actually change the motion of the entire piece. Everything is greatly exaggerated and dramatic which is key when it comes to conveying emotions and concepts through a still image.