a second of blindness on the way home

If I’m riding home from the city along my usual route, I pass by a long fence at the showgrounds, made of tall metal bars. At a certain time late on a sunny afternoon, a gap in the buildings, just behind the end of the fence, lets in a low ray of sun from the west. As I ride by, the light filtered by the bars of the fence produces a strobe effect, flashing so strongly that I’m momentarily blinded, and continue to see afterimages flicker before my eyes until the next intersection.

I tried to capture the effect on camera, but for some reason it doesn’t translate. Maybe I’m pointing it in the wrong direction, or maybe its automatic adjustments cancel out the flashes of light. But I will keep trying to film it every time I ride past, and hopefully I’ll find a way to capture it.

Here are two failed attempts.