I made a promise to keep moving forward, to keep a focus on beauty and good. So while my heart is most certainly reeling from the horrible explosions in Boston and now Texas, I will clutch on to that promise like a rope of peace. I know that so many of you are struggling to do the same, each in your own way.
My first instinct was to share a little light and there is nothing petite about la lumière de Marseille. “Why is it so bright?” I asked Remi as we walked along the Quai de la Joliette. “The sea acts like a giant reflector,” he responded. “It bounces the sun up and out.” And while it was nearly blinding, it was ultimately illuminating, pulling apart the contrasts with gentle fingers. I wanted to capture it all, like a child jumping at melting snowflakes. But we were late, so late to see the amazing Koudelka exhibition at La Vieille Charité that there was not a moment to lose. So I literally took most of these photos while walking, nary a pause.
Afterwards, we made a long loop back to where we were parked and still I was snapping practically non-stop. “Do you really find that interesting?” Remi asked, not unkindly, at one point while I was photographing a stop light backed against blue office windows. Yes, I did. I do.
Bright light shine and show the way, propel us forward, just like the light of Marseille, out of our collective darkness.
I just want to add one thing that surprised me in the responses to my previous post. It is funny, this internet world. Our personalities shine through our words and reactions distinctly even with the distance. I think that you all know how grateful I am that so many of you are loyal visitors and commenters. I light up each time I see what I could call “your familiar faces.”
And so I was amazed, truly, to discover that so very many of you are from Boston. So many, it is incredible. And I just want to say that each and every one of you, while different in many ways, have one quality that unites you: a big heart, a generous spirit. Each and every one. That says so much doesn’t it? It gives me hope for Boston and beyond.
How funny, I was capturing the light this weekend too. There is something magical about it. I hope to post some photos soon.
Beautiful. The light is entirely different in the South of France–like nowhere else on earth!Look at that sky!!! Thank you , this is just what I needed to cheer me on this grey day in New England.
Beautiful post, photos and sentiments. Merci beaucoup. We are now in Pezenas.
What a lovely post. Thank you….or better yet, merci!
Thank you, Heather for posting more beautiful photos
Heather, although your post is more in line with lights as in shadows and light in art and architecture, I see it also as very appropriate for what you've touched upon with your last post. We need LIGHT in our personal life and in relation to others and this world. Thank you Remi…:) Now I understand why there's so much lights in the cities around the shores of the Mediterrenean Sea. Thank you for this highlight on Marseilles. Lovely City and interesting and wonderful architecture.
Merci Edgar for the compliment and also for stopping by. With that first visit, you shared a quote that sums up neatly exactly what I am hoping to find with this little blogging effort. Not always arriving, but trying…
Have a wonderful evening.
Heather
Thank you Laoch. My Mom mentioned that it snowed last week in Michigan so I can understand why…
Hi Heather,
Shadows and light have fascinated artists and thinkers since beginning of time.
Virginia Woolf writes that from the ordinary we experience “little daily miracles, illuminations, matches struck unexpectedly in the dark”. The moments of insights.
I like your photos.
edgar
Truly inspiring photography. After looking at your pictures I wish I was there right now.