INVICTUS
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
~ W.E. Henley
I shot this sunset light pillar a little over a month ago, February 18th. I had been getting good shots all along then noticed a light pillar forming. The developing image was so inspiring that for one extended moment I did not feel pain. I forgot the cold as I scrambled over frozen sand and ice, past other stationary photographers, strangers to me, to keep the image framed as you see it.
It was one of those moments you set yourself up for. Yes, it all hurts as everything hurts and yes you could slip and fall but you can slip and fall getting out of bed in your own home. For one long moment, those scarce minutes the light was like this, for that long moment pain did not matter.
And that is how I deal with it.
dunelight 
Thanks for your words and the lighthouse picture.
Warm greetings from the cold sea
The Fab Four of Cley
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
YW! Our inland sea is cold just yet. Soon it will be warm and inviting. No salt.
Every time I hit the shutter on my Nikon I ‘heard’ Luke Skywalker firing up his light saber. Yeah!
I am sorry I did not post this in higher resolution. In higher res you see the ice on the lighthouse, the photographer out by the lighthouse and the fact the light itself is on. In the years I was silent I had a computer crash. That computer had my program that did watermarks on it. I’ll get around to it. Maybe. Sailing season soon. 🙂
I was talking with a customer by cellphone, as it was going to be a long call I went to the roof with my tripod and camera and I didn’t imagine there would be a light pillar. Yours made me recall it, except the context… it is otherworldly. Thank you for sharing it with us, Kim. I hope a knowledgeable reader can suggest a watermark program. These days seems to be everything developed, and even to do it online, if I would add watermarks to my photos I would use the Canva program, which works in internet and for the most part is intuitive.
I will look it up. I should find and try to load my ancient copy of Photoshop Elements on yet another computer chock full of Apple proprietary software.
Stunning.
Thank you…I have no idea how I missed your comment. Thank you!
I like the base covered with ice. 👍
I’ve been reading those word over and over to myself.
what if you slip and fall… oh but what if you fly?
here’s to more of those moments
~B
Fabulous!
Great capture. I’d never even heard of a light pillar until I moved to the Midwest. Same with sun dogs. Cold weather does such weird things to the sky, doesn’t it?
Well…I more or less set it up…I worked hard for the shot.
‘Invictus’ has always been a favorite poem of my family’s and we love lighthouses too. Henley was on his deathbed when he wrote it but defied the odds and did not. I kind of like seeing ‘out of the night that covers me’
accompanying a lighthouse somehow.