There is something so beautiful about those golden hours that photographers are always talking about. Sunrise and sunset. My favourite tends to be twilight, and that probably comes as no surprise! This is the time when everything slows down, becomes quieter. But also at the same time there can be an expectant feeling in the air, as if something might, could happen, and often does to me.

This liminal quality can be haunting, eerie, a sense of the unknown hovering around the edges. The sacred flows through time itself. I have always been entranced by this time and when I have waited just that little bit longer for the afternoon to pass, something seems to happen where the light creates a magical atmosphere and some of my favourite images come from this time of day.

The phrase that Stephen King uses in his novels for people with a developed sixth sense, or psychic abilities, 'Shining', is a beautiful word for a difficult gift. I have always used this phrase when referring to the 'Shining Ones' I have sensed around me, certainly if there is any sense of divinity to the being near me. But also to those elements in the landscape where things are not so clear. Those aspects that are not primitive, but are primal. Events that can run a chill up the spine but also generate incredible joy. Events that are difficult to explain but are never forgotten.

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Capturing this with a camera is not easy. It is like trying to translate a feeling into an image. But sometimes it is visible, and the quality of light changes with the atmosphere and with the heavy stillness comes a shimmering appearance. However, by the time you have got yourself together enough to use the camera to photograph what you are seeing the presence has often gone.  

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The Shining come to you, recognising a kindred spirit. Almost impossible to predict, it can happen out of the blue, or you can walk right in on it. The only thing that is certain is that you will always remember it.