West Palm Beach Skyline at Night

During our boat trip last night, I was able to get this shot as we cruised by West Palm Beach. Due to the movement of the boat and the long shutter opening needed to capture the light, it was difficult to get one without a lot of camera movement. This one above was the best of the batch. I have always thought that city skylines at night, especially those by bodies of water, have a magic "Emerald City" quality to them. Like it or not, large cities with bigger buildings represent an outer manifestation of human achievement and creativity.

There are others that see cities, and their resultant skylines, as representative of avarice, corruption and oppression. Which in many ways is too bad to take such a negative view on something that is such a human trait - the need and ability to build things. Lake Worth will always be the "yin" to West Palm Beach's "yang." In the world that is Lake Worth, this picture comes pretty close to waving a red piece of cloth in front of a bull. There is a salaciousness about it that just seems unseemly - so big, so tall, so brash, so bright - so not Lake Worth. As we well know, avarice, corruption and oppression are not confined to larger cities.

It may help to think of the contrast in this way. "Yang" energy is not bad - "Yin" energy isn't inherently good. They just are. As opposites, they need eachother to help define the other. West Palm Beach is making the most of its "yang" energy - is Lake Worth making the most of its "yin" energy?

Hmmm.