Monday 6 August 2018

Sweet Light!



“Be the light.”
- Riff on Matthew 5:14

My beloved Prince Edward County Photography Club continues to nudge me into being a better photographer. The monthly theme challenges are an excellent propellant for my craft and creativity.

The theme of the July meeting was “Sweet Light”. Working on images for this theme reminded me – as if I needed reminding – of the importance of light in photography. Photographers are in the light business. Light is our oxygen and our tool; it literally illuminates our creative paths and exposes our vision.

The Vietnamese Zen Buddhist spiritual leader Thich Nhat Hanh once famously observed, “No mud, no lotus.” His words highlight the powerfully transformative role of suffering in our lives – no suffering, no joy. In a similar vein, without light, there is no photograph. And I don’t say that frivolously. Light can be annoying, unco-operative, disappointing, and capricious. It can be your friend and your nemesis. Working with it and getting to appreciate it is a lifelong journey. It’s the mud from which our photographs emerge.

Each of the images below play beautifully with light. I love them all and thoroughly enjoyed photographing them and curating them. 

Enjoy.

 
Above the main altar, Notre-Dame Basilica, Montréal
May 23, 2018

Votive candles, Notre-Dame Basilica, Montréal
May 23, 2018

Royal Bank ATM, Complexe Desjardins, Montréal
May 23, 2018

Yellow bicycle helmet, Adelaide Street, Toronto
May 8, 2018

Light-infused bowl at my niece’s memorial service,
West Lake, May 5, 2018


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