My obsession with light
It occurs to me that many of the things I enjoy all have something in common - light.
Let's start with fire. I love to watch a fire crackle and burn. A controlled fire, thank you - don't worry, I'm not setting things alight with abandon. Bonfire, fire pit, fireplace..... tell me where one is and I'll be there in a flash.
Lightning storms. Totally enthralling. In Kingston we lived on the 5th floor of an apartment building with a fantastic view of incoming storms from the West. I don’t get the same kind of vista now that I live in a river valley, but if I hear thunder in the middle of the night, I’ll often get up to watch the flashes light up the sky.
Stars. So awe inspiring to lay back in an area with little light pollution and look at the stars. If I know that folks will be setting up their telescopes to look at the lights in the sky, I’m going to be there.
Meteor showers. Yep, been there, done that too. Many times. At four in the morning on a work day no less.
Home lighting. I have always been fascinated by the unlimited variations of lighting sources and styles and I tend to linger when I hit the lighting zone in IKEA and other stores with a variety of lighting on display. Do I have lights on and inside my computer? You bet I do.
Christmas lights. November first is the day our tree goes up and I don’t mind one little bit. My wife and I even have a nightly tradition where just before bed, we stand in front of the tree and look at all the lights and anything else that lights up in our collection of holiday decorations. We bought a few of those light-up antique-looking lanterns that are like snow globes. I could stare at those for hours while the sparkly bits move around inside.
Sunrises and sunsets. One of the reasons I like the California coastline so much - unobstructed views of that magnificent palette of colour displayed by our setting sun and our atmosphere. My favourite colour - that blue-white hue that glows in the Western sky just before the sky goes completely dark at sunset. But it’s not just about sunsets. Sunrise is just as gorgeous. My fondest memories were how the sky looked in CFS Alert, at the northern tip of Ellesmere island in Nunavut. When polar night is slowly being intruded on by the daily transition around noon from astronomical twilight, then nautical twilight, and finally civil twilight. The black sky turning dark blue and getting lighter every day with tinges of orange and yellow. Sublime.
City lights. Put me in a hotel with an expansive view of city lights and I'll be reluctant to leave, such as the view I had a few times in Vegas. One time in my youth, I spent the entire night on top of Mount Royal overlooking downtown Montreal walking back and forth between the various look-outs with the great views of the skyscrapers and the grid of lit up streets.
Laser light shows. If you haven't seen a classic rock laser light show in a planetarium, you haven't lived.
Fireworks. When Montreal had the Benson & Hedges International Fireworks competition (back when cigarette companies could still sponsor stuff), I was in my glory. Unlike other venues, Montreal put the show on right in the middle of La Ronde amusement park, which is on an island right in the middle of the St Lawrence River (the old site of Expo '67). The Jacques Cartier bridge spans the river just 100 metres away from the firing point and the bridge closes to vehicle traffic an hour before the display begins, so you could walk onto it and watch the spectacle from the bridge deck. You don't get a better view than that.
Photography. I’m not very skilled at capturing light with a camera, but I give it a good try. The shots I’m most proud of I put on Instagram.