Light overpowers dark

These lovely iris were glowing in the sunlight as we waited in the ferry line to leave Shaw last week. I tend not to photograph subjects whose light and shadow areas are this pronounced: for some reason I am rarely comfortable with high contrast work -- plus this is a definite weak spot for digital cameras.

But I was so enchanted by the light of the iris against the dark fence that I couldn't resist. And of course, that's one of the advantages of digital cameras -- you can take those risky shots without using up precious film or paying for a useless print.

... and sometimes you get lucky, making it worth the risk. Even though there is so little light in this picture its strength overpowers the dark with an exuberance that is hard to resist.

I'd like to think that life works that way, too: that when the dark spots get darker and larger, the light spots take on extra power and illumination -- kind of like the wattage of Katie's smile, which seems to linger on still in spite of losing her.