Tuesday, January 25, 2011

It's All About the Light . . .

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The other day late in the afternoon, there was a strange glow in the frosted glass in the window at the top of the cellar stairs.
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I ran around to the front windows to see if the world was ending or aliens were landing or some such. There was a crazy pink light painting everything all rosy, and I hadn't even been drinking !
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The sunset was doing a wild dance in the western skies.
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Gotta love days like that. Because it's all about the light, the light we see, the light we share, the light we shine.
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59 comments:

Snowbrush said...

Owen, how beautiful. I never would have known what the first photo was.

Stickup Artist said...

Oh darn, I see Snowbrush beat me out for the Early Bird Award! These are wonderful. I don't see pink sunsets here, ours are very red so this is a real treat for me! The one of the street is amazing how the glow permeates, is absorbed, and subtly reflected back by everything it touches. Isn't great to get excited by this dependable, taken for granted, miracle of light... and then when it takes on these kinds of hues. What Joy!

Stickup Artist said...

I meant to say "isn't it great," certainly not "isn't great."

Lynne with an e said...

Ooooh...yummier than cake! Pinker than cherry stained lips! Warmer than a glowing birthday candle. Such luscious colours. And the black tracings of the branches against the sweetly bruised sky rival the delicacy of Chantilly lace.

TheChieftess said...

Wow!!! Beautiful color!!!

The Sagittarian said...

wow, aren't sunsets the best things!!

Amy said...

Such a vivid pink, but still soft - like it's seen through a lantern! I can't get over the hues. I'm so glad you captured this and even more so that you shared it with us!

pRiyA said...

Those were really beautiful pictures just glowing softly on my screen. Thank you for sharing the light you saw.

Lydia said...

What spectacular light, color, and captures by you. Loved your descriptions also.

A favor: I just posted the rest (2) of the postcards that go with the first one from last week's post that you so kindly translated. If you get a few minutes free I would be so grateful if you would translate these so we will have the full story. You're great, whether or not you do this for me. :)

Steve said...

Strawberries... like the world had been bathed in strawberries...!

Anonymous said...

Wow. These pictures certainly invokes the atmosphere of a magical magic lantern show.

I noticed that little dot of light in the middle of that darkened house in that last photo. Very nice.

Loulou said...

Strawberry (sky) fields for ever indeed ;-)
Bises

The Poet Laura-eate said...

How completely magical! You didn't even need rose-tinted glasses!

I'd use the last one as your next family Christmas card with some white scroll lettering at the bottom wishing people a Merry Christmas!

Plum' said...

Des champs de fraises pour Loulou, un ciel barbe à papa pour moi ! :)
Question parfum, je préfère le "vanilla sky" ;)

Céline said...

Il y a quelques jours j'ai loupé un ciel magnifique : pas mon appareil sur moi, et le temps que je rentre du boulot, c'était trop tard. Mais heureusement Owen, tu as pu saisir ces instants magiques où le soleil d'hiver pare le ciel de champ de fraises ou de barbe à papa !!

Looking to the Stars said...

Beautiful! I found you thru Lydia "Writerquake". I wanted to thank you for translating the post card. I enjoyed very much :)

Lorrene said...

I wish I could have been there, but this is the next thing. Beautiful skies.

Anonymous said...

such a beautiful sky! It is magic. How lucky we are that you could capture the sky even for us..!
Thank you, dear Owen!

Renée

Deborah said...

Oh yes, the light!! Nothing excites a photographer more, unless it's a new camera. Loooovely sky, and the architecture of your part of France - so different from here - brought back memories of when I lived near Paris.

Dee Newman said...

Capturing what can be seen and felt is not easy - but to dance with the light in any atmosphere will always takes you to a place within yourself that is very revealing.

Carla said...

HI Owen, Wow, this is incredible. What a sky.. Just good to stand before such beauty.. Thanks for visiting. Carla

Olga said...

Very beautiful and dramatic colors. The sky is amazing!

elena nuez said...

E S P E C T A C U L A R !!!

mythopolis said...

Oooh! Red sky at night, sailor's delight! The blush through the pebbled glass gives it the appearance of hammered copper.

Owen said...

Hey Snowbrush, it's been a little while, good to see you... the glass in some of the windows in this house is pretty weird, one of these days I'll get around to changing it, I like to actually be able to see out of windows. But at least the glow could be seen...

Just read your list of "Things I hate"... loved it, and also loved Skepticat's answer... what a riot !

Be well...

Owen said...

Hey Stickup, well, maybe both you and Snowbrush can get an early bird award today... you know, there are no rules in this game, we make them up as we go along...

I have honestly never seen a pink glow in the sky like that ever before, it was simply astonishing. Maybe it's the after effects of the volcano last spring... high altitude particles refracting light, who knows... but yes, without light, where would we be ??? Like the Doobie Brothers tune, without love, where would we be now ?

Owen said...

Lynne !
:-)

Yummier than cake ? I'm not sure that's possible...
:-)

Owen said...

Chieftess, Saj, Amy,
yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes ! it was indeed awesome, honestly, I was sprinting up the stairs to go find my camera, afraid it might be one of those ephemeral moments that disappears in a heartbeat...

Thanks !!!

Owen said...

Priya, you are so very welcome, may they glow a long time on your screen...

Owen said...

Hi Lydia, thanks !!! and yes, I'll be back over just as soon as I can to continue translating the cards... not forgotten, just getting beaten up at work at the straightjacket factory. Just when I though we had reached our maximum level of production, the number of orders at the end of January actually doubled over a normal January. You just have to read the world news to see why...

Owen said...

Hey Steve, what an image, yeah, strawberries in a strawberry milkshake with lots of vanilla ice cream...
:-)

Oh shoot, now I actually have a hankering for one, and at this hour of the night, not possible...

Owen said...

Hi LGS, thought you might like to run around in the trees here for a while...

I didn't even notice that point of light when I was taking the picture, I think it's a reflection in the plate glass window of their back porch.

Owen said...

Bonjour Loulou !

Nothing to get hung about, Strawberry fields forever...

May all your skies be rosy and strawberry !

Elisa said...

What a wonderful sky! In the summer I often see sky like this..and could stare it ages ;) I have some addiction to the sunsets and sunrises.. Have a nice weekend ;)
If you see this..Finally I get through to comment your blog ;)

Amanda Summer said...

it is all about the light. and that foto of your basement window is to die for........how could glass + light become so sensuous?

sunset doing a wild dance indeed......;-)

Owen said...

Hi Laura, I fear if I'd been wearing rose tinted glasses the amplification of the rosy light might have caused a total meltdown in my brain... Well, I guess there are worse ways to go...
:-)

Owen said...

Chère K'line, ici tu as droit à tout la barbe à papa que tu veux... des nuages entiers juste pour toi. Si je comprends bien la barbe à papa est bon pour guérir les courbatures, vieille remède de grandmère...
:-)

Owen said...

Céline,
Cela t'apprendra de te promener sans un appareil photo à la main... quand on pense à tous les moments dans l'histoire de l'homme qui n'ont pas été enregistrés en photos parce que quelqu'un avait oublié d'apporter leur appareil photo...

La découverte de l'utilisation du feu pour cuire de la viande, la pose de la dernière pierre en haut des pyramides d'Egypte, par exemple, ou le sac de Troie, le mariage de Cléopatra, le sacre de Dagobert en tant que roi de France, le départ de Colombe vers le nouveau monde, etc, etc, tout ces moments perdu pour le manque d'un appareil photo... tu y penseras, n'est-ce pas ?

Owen said...

Hi Looking to Stars,
You are very welcome, I intend to get back to Lydia's place this weekend to translate the other two... Thanks for stopping by here...

Owen said...

Dear Lorrene,
Just the fact that you could partake of these moments vicariously from half way around the world by means that were totally unimagined when you were born is a bit of a miracle even so, yes ? I wish you many more year of enjoyable travelling...

Owen said...

Dear Renée,
Magic is the key word here. I'm lucky to have some wonderful readers like you stopping in from time to time.

Any positive energy we can share through these mysterious channels can only help to offset some of the negative energy afoot in the world today. Peace to all peoples...

Owen said...

Hi Deborah, so right you are, a new camera is a very exciting moment indeed... for without a camera, the light just disappears back into the void from which it springs...

James said...

What an amazing sky! Great shots too. It's not always easy capturing colors like these.

Thanks for the e-card. It's really nice. Your daughters look very much like you.

Owen said...

Dee, if only every being on this planet was out celebrating the light, dancing with the moon, cherishing what we have, rather than going to all the dark places people go to worship the sad things that people worship today in banks and factories and mines and wars and parking lots, bearing all the toys that boisterous boys will bear, the weapons, the chainsaws, the industrial fishing ships, the rockets, the cars, the oil wells...

We could be dancing with the light, but we are driven to do other less enchanting things with our days...

Owen said...

Hi Carla, very welcome, thanks for coming to stand here a moment and soak up some of the pink light. Not good for getting a tan with perhaps, but I'm sure it has other beneficial qualities. If only a designer could figure out how to put light like this into an evening dress, I'm sure it would be a success...

Owen said...

Olga, Bicocacolors,
Many happy thanks .... Muchas gracias !!!!

Owen said...

Mythops,
Hammered copper... hmmm, or maybe the blush in a young brides cheeks on her wedding night ?
:-)

Owen said...

Elisa, Hei,
I'm quite concerned... having such an addiction, I don't know if there is any treatment for it...

Well, just please try not to overdose with it, ok ?
:-)
:-)

Owen said...

Hi Amanda,
If that photo is to die for, I just hope I won't have to die at the hands of someone wielding a Bash and Chop gadget... positively scary, that thing !

Indeed, that rosy light was about as sensuous as light can possible get, it was like the entire evening out there, clouds, sky, houses, all of it, had put on the sheerest of gauzy rose pink negligées, and was just wallowing in the pleasure of wearing such a thing... I don't know what else to compare it to. Oh yes, and as mentioned by others above, not only was the evening in a negligée, but she was eating strawberries, whipped cream, and cotton candy... a real gourmand.
:-)

Owen said...

Hey James, a million thanks, for b-day wishes and all, glad you liked the card, maybe on another trip you'll be able to meet the family, la grenouille and the girls...

Hope you are holding up under all the snow that's been coming down ! Wow, no rest for the weary of flaky... !

Virginia said...

Peut-être quelques vin rosé, cher Owen? J'adore!:)
V

Pastelle said...

J'adore tes photos du monde rose.
Et ton humour.
Et je continue à me marrer avec la traduction automatique.
Je t'en colle une pour le plaisir :

"CELA t'apprendra sans te promener de photo non Appareil à la main ... Quand le Pense A TOUS DANS moments les l'histoire de l'Homme qui n'ont Pas Été enregistrés photos en PARCE Oublié Québec avait Quelqu'un d'apporter Leur Appareil photo ...

La découverte de l'utilisation du feu versez cuire de la Viande, la pose de La Dernière pierre en haut des pyramides d'Egypte, par exemple par, ou Le sac de Troie, le mariage de Cléopâtre, Le Sacre de Dagobert en important au Québec roi de France, Le départ de Colombe vers le Nouveau Monde, etc, etc, Tout CES moments perdu versez le Manque d'ONU Appareil photo ... penseras y tu, pas n'est-ce?"

C'est trop bon !!! :D

Owen said...

Hi Virginia, absolutely, vin rosé was the only beverage suitable for toasting this naturally splendid event...

Owen said...

Bonsoir Pastelle !

Mais quelle idée que tu as eu d'insérer du texte en français (ok, pas vraiment du français, disons, le français d'un immigré qui massacre quelques tournures de grammaire allegrement :-) dans le traducteur ?!? Afin de le refaire cracher du français québecquois ???

Visiblement c'était un traducteur très nationaliste québecquois...

We'll have to keep an eye on you, apparently you have some original and unusual ideas !!!

Pastelle said...

Parfois je comprends bien ton anglais. Et là c'est la fête ! Que du bonheur ! Trop fière je suis ! ☼ ☺

Owen said...

@ Pastelle,

Bon, bah, bonne fête alors ! Faut toujours trouver des raisons pour faire la fête dans la vie !

Being Me said...

Stunning! What colours. I am so pleased for you (and us) that you had a camera handy!

Roxana said...

in my new appartment, the balcony opens over the town and i get to see a lot of colourful sunsets, i am so fascinated that i tend to leave my work and run to the window any minute - it's new to me, i have never lived in such a house before, i had always been surrounded by other buildings...

the first picture is mesmerizing, i would have never guessed what it is!

Ola said...

nature is fantastic!