You may not believe this, but my time machine is over fifty years old and I have never needed to repair it. Built in the 1900’s it is one of the electric models. My great uncle, who died about twenty years ago, built it right here in Pasadena during WWII, and not only was he one of the best electricians in Pasadena, he built things to last. When I stepped inside this morning with the intention of heading back to 1967, something made a funny click and then everything went dead. I should have visited Uncle Frank, my trusted Pasadena electrician, last week for an evaluation when I was doing some errands that I neglected in 1979.

Because I could not use the machine to fast forward to 2030, when requests are as easy as wishing them done, I had to resort to using my laptop and a search engine that could respond to “electrician Pasadena CA,” a slow but fairly accurate method. After looking over my choices, I decided to take a chance and call a company called The Electric Connection. I could hear a bit of hesitation over the phone when I mentioned time machine, and they asked be if I meant a an electric timer, or if it was for a modern security lighting system, or if I needed an electrical rewire to bring my home wiring up-to-date, but after explaining that it wasn’t any of those, they went ahead and made my service call appointment. I am pretty sure they thought that I didn’t know what I was talking about, and that they figured they would sort it out after they arrived. I did confirm with them that the problem was definitely an electrical issue, though, and that it would most likely need some skilled electrical troubleshooting.

The Pasadena electrician arrived promptly for his scheduled appointment. He tried to cover up his surprise, but I was sure he had never worked on this kind of electrical project before. After he looked it over, he forgot all the intrigue and discovered that it needed an electrical conduit replaced. Well, that was easy enough. We also discussed the possibility of renovating it to function like an electric car. He told me they were the electrician in Pasadena that was doing most of the electric vehicle charger installs these days. That just might work for trips into the future, but for the ones heading back in time, there would be no electric charging stations.

Then he asked the big question: would he allow me to let him test it? He looked like a capable fellow with exceptional integrity, so I agreed. After much thought as to whether he wanted to visit Benjamin Franklin in the mid 1700’s to learning about electricity through lightning or Thomas Edison to see him inventing the phonograph and light bulb in the 1870’s, he chose Ben, and this electrician in Pasadena took off with excitement. We even set the timer to get him back without missing a beat for his next electrical service call appointment; I love that feature.

I was able to enjoy two cups of tea and a pastry before my Pasadena electrician returned. It would be insufficient to describe the look on his face as he stepped out of the machine. He could not put into words the incredible meeting with old Ben Franklin himself. Besides having an educational one on one, he was also asked to participate in a few of the famous kite experiences. This young Pasadena electrician would never be the same!

As we parted for the day, he asked if he could come back sometime and fly off to meet Thomas Edison. He looked like he could keep a secret, so I agreed as long as he told the office that he had replaced the electrical conduit and all of my clocks were working just fine now. I knew my search for electrician Pasadena CA was over, and that I finally found an electrician that I could trust at The Electric Connection in Pasadena CA.

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I mean, this is crazy, right?! You can almost FEEL the presence of these weird light dudes as they approach you at a murderously slow pace. Are they astronauts on our own planet? Is this our planet? I was unable to locate a larger version of this photograph, but I still put it at the top because it is incredibly evocative. And that’s not even the real kicker. If you’ve read my other posts on light painting, you know that incredibly long exposure times are necessary for shots like this. So homegirl or homeboy was out in the snow, in the dark, making this thing. And she/he had the wherewithal, tromping through the icy powder, to render these human forms so very well, even making one look like he’s trudging knee-deep. So weirdly inhuman. So weirdly human. I love this photo.

2. Give Up the Ghost

I would never give you a photo of old shoes to look at unless there were something special going on in the picture. In this one, there’s a simple, appropriate message. Ready for it? LIGHT ENHANCES THINGS. Duh, right? This photo is aesthetically interesting, but more valuable to me is the way it shows the essential point of light painting: To have fun! To breathe some excitement into your photography. If your only subject is an old pair of Tims, don’t complain. Turn off the lights and bust out a “paintbrush.”

7. There Are ALMOST No Words for This

Isn’t this great? What I love most is how nonchalant and, well, normal the guy looks in this photo. See? It’s all about juxtaposition. Angel wings mixed with a loud sense of everydayness (he COULD be wearing white robes) make you take notice of the unspoken contradiction. You ask, Why this? And you are led to wonder if maybe this is saying something about how sometimes the people who are the most inconspicuous are the most angelic. See what I did there? That’s why I have chosen these photos from among the hundreds that are out there. They invite wonder and have the power to lead to new insights. I am a dork.

9. Do Not Anger Him/Her/It

* Note: I found these photos on Pinterest and was unable to confirm all of their original sources. So, if you have any information about the original sources for any of these photos, please let us know in the comments sections. We want to give credit for these fantastic light painting photos where it is very much due! Thanks!