Finding Happiness in Darkness
One sure thing about winter is that we have lots of darkness! Which can be beautiful, and it inspires lots of stunning works of art – but spending so much time without light can also be very draining.
Across the winter months many of us get up and go to work in darkness, and then finish work and return home without ever really seeing daylight in between. Plus, if we do see daylight, the weather often gets in the way of us doing anything nice and scenic anyway.
So the only real option we have (if we’re going to avoid losing our minds) is to embrace the darkness, and to find the beauty within it. I think one of the strongest skills a person can learn is to find something that makes them feel good during a long and dark period. Getting into a positive and energised place during what can be an incredibly wearing and difficult time is a fantastic life skill.
So, I just wanted to share a couple of things that I think are beautiful during these dark months, to try to spread a bit of joy!
The Night Sky
A nice starting place is the beautiful night sky.
The sky is still a natural source of light at night time, and simply looking up on a clear night can give you an immense and sprawling display of illuminations.
Not only do we have a twinkling blanket of stars above us, with all its wonderful constellations; but we also have the moon – a constantly changing character throughout the season.
Although you can still see much of this from urban locations, it is definitely one of the great strengths of living in a rural area in the dark winter months.
Civilisation from a Distance
The North is blessed with lots of tall hills, which means you can easily find a good, high vantage point that looks across miles and miles of land.
Densely populated areas, with lots of bright streetlights and buildings, are beautiful when viewed from a distance - it’s like a blanket of twinkling lights that sprawls across an entire landscape.
It’s a modern wonder, and something I always look forward to seeing on dark nights now.
Night Time Portraits
Just because it’s night time doesn’t mean you can’t have the fun of a portrait session.
If you can find a nicely illuminated location then you’re already winning – and if not, you can create one pretty easily by yourself. I’m a big fan of lights, and have been gradually building my own collection to illuminate my garden and the space outside my house. I mainly use battery powered strings of fairy lights, which means I haven’t needed to install an expensive outdoor electrical system or anything. Plus, it means they’re completely portable, so I can take my lights to any location I might want to illuminate. Along with this, I’ve also bought some affordable lights to use with my camera, to help get sharper shots in the darkness.
A portrait photography session can be a fun and social thing to enjoy with others. If you have a camera and a nicely lit location, all you need to add is a willingness to be an idiot and fool around in front of the camera, and you’ll capture some great moments to keep forever.
Note: I would encourage fooling around in general to make yourself feel better – happiness is infectious, plus, laughter is the best medicine and all that!
Vehicles
So this might be more a photography thing, but picking up the theme of being attracted to sources of light in the darkness, finding a busy road or railway line can be a great start for this!
Light trails give a fantastic energy to a scene. They give beautiful, vibrant colours, interesting lines, and also a sense that there’s activity and something going on. They make a location feel alive, and I think that anything busy is a great thing to add to a night time shot to give it some energy.
That’s why I particularly enjoy a photo of a railway viaduct, where there aren’t just trains passing through, but also a network of tracks to make lines across the foreground too.
Also, if you’re going near a road, there will likely be streetlights to give some illumination to other elements of the area too. Obviously this is going to be much easier if you live in an urban location, but I’m sure there will be areas of high traffic, with great civil engineering structures, in rural areas too!
There are lots of great structures and roads throughout the UK that are given a new energy at night, when they’re illuminated by vehicles and streetlights. One of my favourite examples of this is the Tyne Bridge in Newcastle.
Architecture
Just like vehicles with their lights on at night time, buildings give their own illuminations and can be just as beautiful and captivating in darkness as they are in daylight.
I love how buildings transform in the dark, and how whole town and city scapes work together to create amazing displays of light. A city break is definitely worth doing in the dark months of the year to give you an intense hit of light in the evening!
Also, even if buildings aren't illuminated and shining for you, a dark silhouette of a structure or set of houses can be just as beautiful.
Empty Spaces
Finally, on the flip side of trying to find busy and social locations, a quiet and empty space can be a place of immense beauty too. It can bring solitude to a location, which in itself can be a wonder and incredibly romantic. I love the feeling of having a place completely to myself. It feels special, like I’m witnessing something that no one else is.
On a cold and dark night, when everyone is home or staying warm and dry indoors, you can go and have a huge public space, like a high street, all to yourself.
(Remember to take measures to stay safe!) Most public areas will still be illuminated, so although they may have an eerie mood with the emptiness, they won’t necessarily feel dangerous. Hopefully they will feel warm and safe, and just beautiful.
I hope this has helped to share some good feelings, and give some ideas for things to help keep you positive and energised during the darker seasons. The things that illuminate a dark place are often things of immense beauty, and they can fill you with warmth and good feelings.
Whether you live in an urban or a rural location, I’d encourage you to go out and find whatever beautiful light is on offer near you – and to celebrate the darkness that has inspired it.