Icicles from way above

Frozen, for now
London, ON
January 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The scene: I'm out for a walk with my wife, our daughter, and the wonderdog. We've carved a long loop around the snow-covered neighborhood and are trudging the last block before turning into our driveway.

The night sky, lit to a dirty grey by low-hanging, fast-moving clouds reflecting the city lights below, is becoming increasingly flecked by wind-whipped snowflakes. It's a perfect Canadian winter night.

We have weird streetlights in our area, with round covers atop them that either look like institutionalized fedoras or a bad homage to George Jetson. I notice icicles hanging down from their edges, perfectly placed to amplify the yellowish sodium vapor light blasting them from the side.

I tell my wife I'm having a vision, which is my way of letting her know another ridiculous photographic idea has just popped into my head. Before I can complete the thought, she's suggesting we drop the dog off at home and come back to shoot the scene. Who am I to disagree?

Since the phone just won't do for a shoot like this, I throw the camera-camera into a backpack and we head back out. I snag a few quick images from the lamp nearest the house and, satisfied with the initial result, repeat the same scenario on a few other posts down the street.

Debbie carefully watches me to ensure I don't step into traffic, and after each set we quickly review the results on the screen before deciding what to do next.

Soon enough, we decide we have enough variety to guarantee at least one reasonable frame, and we head for home. This photo is my favorite of the bunch, but in the end it isn't really the photos that I'll remember so much as the experience I got to have with someone who has always understood why I'm driven to take them.

Photography where the photo is less important than the process that was used in its creation. If it means more nights like the one we've just had, I'll take it.

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