Blinded by the light, Part 2

Sun on the left, reflection or "sunbow" on the right

As the new year rolled around last week, I went out into the woods behind the house where we were staying  with friends. The landscape and trees reminded me of our tree farm in Virginia, where I spent last New Year's Eve celebrating my father's life with my sister and her family. As a matter of fact, the picture above looks a lot like the one I took at sunrise exactly one year ago there.
But as the new year neared, I began missing him a lot and realized it as I shot the pictures below, which are different from any I've taken.

Ansel Adams once said, "A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed, and is, thereby, a true manifestation of what one feels about life in its entirety." I'm not saying these are great photographs here, but they seem to express my feeling of loss.
If I were trying to analyze these photographs from that psychological standpoint, I'd say that the shadowy outlines represent the impression or imprint he left on my life. The strong light in the background is his spirit trying to reach out to me. 

But we all experience loss at one time or another. It could be an abrupt change in a relationship or the loss of a friend who leaves you. The lack of color in the pictures represents the emptiness you feel then. 

So there you stand, in the middle of a field like a thistle, reflecting all the light you can back at the sun, but half of you is dark and empty and cold.

Perhaps there is someone close to you who is also in this situation. You can reach out and communicate your feelings to that person and perhaps come to a better understanding of your sadness. After all, life isn't always happy. You can rejoice in the good times even more, having experienced sad times, too.