Why is it that 2am just seems to be the right time to write a blog post? Daylight doesn't seem to help. Yesterday evening I went out to kill some time, stretch my legs, will the morning closer. Armed with a tripod and no deadlines, a car and just the edge of the city to aim for, I set out to take some pictures. I drove past unlit houses, where people no doubt asleep were dreaming the same dreams as I.


Just an empty road ahead, the city was soon behind. I always love to stop the car and stand out in the middle of the night. Breathe in the space, take in the sound of darkness. Eyes slowly acclimatise and start to capture details that a camera, shutter open for 10 seconds, allows you to take home.


And again there was beauty in all this ugliness. Maybe next time I will get far enough away from light polution to see the stars? One day I will tell you all about lying on the cliffs above St Gery looking at the night there. Where you can see the milky way strike clear across the sky, follow satellites as they trawl from one horizon to the other and in the summer wait, trying not to blink, for shooting stars on which to make a wish. Ooh, and the glow worms and the chorus of insects, it is magical. The night sky is something precious, I think of open topped cars and stopping in the middle of nowhere, bike rides by moonlight, growing up sitting on bridges, sharing a bottle of wine... I guess I miss it.

Now the car is outside, ticking hot in the cool air, my shoes kicked off in the hallway, and it is time for sleep.