This summer heat comes to us in various ways–the sweltering temps, which I personally don’t mind, and the heated (oftentimes political) incidents happening all around us.

Hence, in this post, I’d like to explore a visual, photographic representation of the concept of “heat.” Or rather, how do we represent “heat” in photography?

A few ideas:

The concept of heat is often represented in color (bright, vivid colors) but it can also be captured in black-and-white, monochrome. It depends on the subject, story, and mood, among others.

Heat can be visually captured as a physical entity, for example, a fire, (heat) haze, smoke, live lava, the sun, etc.

Heat can be captured, as a concept, metaphorically if you will, in a heated argument, an intense conversation, or a subtle or suggested mood or feeling in body language or pose, especially when photographing people.

Let’s look at a few examples:

Heat in nature (and not only during the summer season):

Live Lava:

Fire in a fire pit – and related visual renderings:

The golden hour:

Intensity in photography and writing:

Here’s also a very intense conversation I had with revered artist and LGBTQIA activist, Avram Finkelstein, when I interviewed and photographed him for the 2019 World Pride cover story of a magazine.

Other examples of images capturing heat and intensity could include images of fireworks.

And also:

Heat or “intensity” in color vs black-and-white photography:

Headshots:

Editorials:

Events, in particular related to activism, fighting for a cause, etc.: (I edited the color image in two different ways)

And there are more editorials, including fashion and/or fitness, or experimentation:

For additional images, please check here.

Stay safe this summer.

As always, thanks for stopping by,

Alina Oswald