Long hours at work over the weekend meant that everything else slipped and energy levels for creativity disappeared. However I was escorted to our local bonfire display “celebrating” Guy Fawkes failed attempt at blowing up the Houses of Parliament. November the 5th is basically the UK’s festival of light. I caught up on the writing and sketching later.
Photographs of Light
Apart from setting the scene, the fireworks are my personal favourites from the many pictures I took.
Writing about Light
I think there are two main meanings to light. One where it is compared to dark, which could be physical or metaphorical, but it is always a comparison. Then there is the physical object typified by a light bulb. Light as a comparison is used everywhere. In entertainment media we have light representing good and dark representing evil. This taps into our psychology. Our fight or flight autonomic reaction kicks in when we enter a dark place. Humans do not see well in the dark and losing one of their senses makes them wary of their environment. In the dark we can be surprised, attacked and hurt. Our culture reinforces this fear too. I notice I refer to humans in the third person there. I like most kids was afraid of the dark. I was afraid of the monster under my bed and the glow in the dark Dracula model I kept in the cupboard. As a teenager I experimented with not being able to see. First because I am very short sighted I would walk to school and back home again without my glasses. But I also wondered what it was like to be blind. I was close my eyes and try walking around my home using my visual memory. Now I am an astrophotographer I am very aware of light levels. Most of the time one does not need a torch at night time because there is so much ambient light around us. I personally hate security lights, there are far too bright and painful. I wish more people would try going about with lots of lighting. Try going around your house at night without switching lights on, you will find there is still plenty of lights on, little LEDs that will light up a dark room. Even a mobile screen left on a bedside table will provide enough light to move about a bedroom. At the organised bonfire the other night people were walking around with bright torches. It was in an open field which has a few large trees in it. Were they afraid of falling over the grass? There is a whole different world out there at night time that is missed when bright lights are used. Don’t you want to see the Milky Way?
Light Sketch
thistlethoughts 
Great photos! Paradoxically, with an overactive imagination, I can get quite freaked out in the dark, but at the same time I love the dark and hate light pollution. At night it has to be almost pitch for me to sleep and weirdly (or not) I find when walking, cycling or running as dusk falls that I seem to have more energy and more stamina. I don’t know if that’s because there’s less visual distraction, creating more focus on the movement and my breath, let alone other senses, or not. I remember hiking with friends on a local mountain and we did the turnaround a bit late. Had to jog all the way down before we lost all light. A bid dumb of us but it was magical in the darkening forest!
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Thanks Amanda, it is actually very easy to take pictures of fireworks. A tripod and a second or two shutter speed, give it a go sometime. Light is just another sensory input so I think it makes sense that we can focus more on other things when it’s dark. I love the dark but I am not lacking in imagination either. An unseen guard dog barking is enough to see me scuttling back to the car for instance. I jogged down a bit of a munro once since it seemed the easiest way down at the time. It was exhilarating during day light hours, let alone at dusk!
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I’ll definitely give the night shots of fireworks etc. a try! We have a tripod but I tend to forget about it, must use it more often.
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