Me and my camera in my home town, my capital city, my london
This week’s connective theme is street light. When you fly over a city in a plane you realise how, as a species, we have dispensed with the need for the most fundamental of the universe’s life giving property – light. We are no longer dependent on the star we orbit for illumination. Thanks for everything so far, but we’ll take it from here. We’ve got way too much to do so we can’t really wait around every day for you to come back so we made our own thanks.
According to Marlowe’s play it was Dr Faustus that made a pact with the devil to be given light when there was none and has often been used as a metaphor to describe our dependent and guilt ridden relationship with artificial lighting. We have become light addicts and I’m not sure we will be able to give it up until it is taken away from us. If you live in a city it is never really totally dark. Pitch black is almost a thing of the past and experiencing it these days, especially in a modern city, is quite a rare thing.
Even indoors half a dozen appliances in your home now have some sort of light on at all times and we have become used to this not-quite-ever-really-dark existence. Its also difficult not to look at people staring into their melatonin inducing smartphone displays and not see light addiction in action. So what of this light addiction? We are children of the sun so its no real wonder. Its also a lot safer. Back when we lived outdoors, nightime was when you tended to get eaten so we are right to be weary of the cover of darkness.
I naturally drift towards nocturnal living given half the chance and love seeing cities at night. Street light is beautiful and gives off a very evocative cinematic vibe to night-time living…bathed in this warm yellow light strollling through a shadowy street I always sort of feel I am in a movie and depending on my headspace will probably dictate whether it is a thriller, an action film or a horror. I do however always feel pretty safe on the night time streets of London, as the illumination is good and the chances of being pounced on by a predator quite remote…
cheers, glad you enjoyed and thanks for the quote, its beautiful.
I loved this essay, I didn’t know the story behind Dr Faustus so that was an extra plus. Thank you
Here’s a nice one:
I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness because it shows me the stars.
Og Mandino