The impetus for this collection of images was an exhibition mounted in the Dingman Gallery in April 2013 by the photography collective from east-end Toronto known as F8 or the Focus of 8 Photographers The theme of that show was Romancing the Light.

I had considered a number of my favourite subjects that would be appropriate – shafts of light in forest glades of the Canadian Shield, the somber shadows midst splashes of coloured light in the Gothic cathedrals of France and Spain, shimmering abstract patterns on the glass walls of the towers at the centre of modern cities. Instead, I chose something inspired by an accident.

I’m sure everyone has taken shots where the camera settings were not right, resulting in an image that was blurred or out of focus. Perhaps you’ve tried to take a shot night where you had no tripod and a time exposure was really needed. Instead of crisp spots of light, what you get is disappointing streaks.

Looking at one such mistake, I discerned suggestions of pattern. What, I wondered, would be the result if I was to exaggerate the motion .........

A wonderful, always fascinating, endlessly surprising obsession was the result. Why shoot in the daytime, when one can have so much fun taking advantage of the night. Strolling along a downtown avenue festooning with Christmas lights, gawking at the neon signs in Chinatown, I must look like a madman, rhythmically gesticulating with his camera. I am conducting the light. And what better place to practice than in a concert hall ... or inside a plane or looking out a window as you ascend over an airport ... or moving through an illuminated tunnel beneath a river.

Depending on the size, brightness, colour and layout of the lights and the way in which you move your arms, the luminous patterns produced are limitless and wonderful.