documenting the light

light patterns filtered through distorted old glass panes in my apartment.
This looks slightly diseased in a still image. See video below

 
I find the light effects kind of mesmerizing.
Music: Brooklyn musician Jonas Asher aka Grasslung– Too Tired to Remember

the slightly watery view through 125+ year old glass.

particularly hectic light effect on a mirror frame
Music: Yo La Tengo —Dont Have to be So Sad

I've always thought the light in my apartment pretty special. It's not wildly bright but rather has a progressive luminosity that makes its way around the (small) space from NE to SW over the course of the day. Its varied intensities from indirect sunrise glow to full late afternoon radiance are something I've never tired of. The apartment is the front of a corner brownstone so I have 2-1/2 exposures: front, side, and the projecting bay window giving me a partial additional angle East. The windows are all original, c.1885, and the glass is noticeably distorted. Ripples, slumps and tiny pinhead bubbles in the panes subtly alter the view so that everything appears slightly underwater. These imperfections also goad the light coming in into sporadic dancing fits on the walls and ceiling. I decided, after 17 years in the space, to finally document the light. So indulge me.

Addendum: I noticed someone linked to me from an Old House forum. Homeowners and renovators: I *love* my old windows. The side panes on the bay window are curved glass; the center panel is extra wide. The frames are unpainted, original finished wood– in bad shape. But even though they're literally crumbling in places, they work incredibly smoothly on weighted chains. Bottom and top panes can literally be lifted and lowered with 2 fingers.