Half a minute earlier...

Half a minute earlier...
Originally uploaded by d.yaro

This photograph would've been interesting. Well perhaps....

It was about 4:30pm in the afternoon. I had taken a couple of photographs of the mist enshrouding Swangard Stadium and the NW corner of Burnaby's Central Park (which actually isn't the geographical centre of Burnaby). I walked a bit and was standing on the NE corner of the intersection taking in the view of the North Shore mountains. I thought to myself "That would make a nice photograph. Those clouds are so interesting looking." As I was letting that thought pass through my mind a saw a bright streak of white light pass from east of the mountains (the right side of the photograph) and then vanish in the west. It must of been visible for less than a second or two. I was dumbstruck for a moment. Then I realized I had most probably witnessed a meteor (or very large meteorite) burning out as it entered the Earth's atmosphere. Later on I theorized it could've been space junk too. But I like the meteor theory better.

This event does highlight a bit of why I take photographs. Partly I'm trying to capture images that are visually appealing. Partly because I'm a bit of a "documentarian". I collect images and data just like I collect objects. Somewhere in me is this part of my character that says "You live in the now so it never hurts to create a record of those moments". Sometimes those images do tell a story but more often than not there have to be accompanying words that define the context the image comes from. If not for these words then the photo I've posted would be just a so-so image of clouds enveloping the local mountains. Which wouldn't be all that much to write about.