wood fruits ~ New York, NY (embiggenable)
shafts of light ~ Au Sable Forks, NY (inAP) / Amherst, NY (embiggenable)
Light makes photography. Embrace light. Admire it. Love it. But above all, know light. Know it for all you are worth, and you will know the key to photography. ~ George Eastman.
Without delving into what "the light" means to individual picture makers, suffice it to write that it means many different things to many different picture makers. In my case, found / straight photography, I do not "chase" a particular type of light. Although, that written, I do on rare ocassion wait for light which will help represent a chosen referent in ... well ... the best light.
That written, I take great delight in finding / encountering light which emphasizes the painterly quality of light known as chiaroscuro. That is, strong tonal contrasts between light and dark to model three-dimensional forms, often to dramatic effect - a technique deeveloped by Leonardo da Vinci, Caravaggio, and Rembrandt.
Call it what you will, I like the phrase from Leonard Cohen's song, Anthem, which describes well that which creates the light in my shaft-of-light pictures:
There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in.