In which the delicate interplay of light and shadow is explored through experiments with varying distances and apertures, revealing how the sun’s image enlarges and softens upon surfaces, leading to subtle gradations of brightness and the faint emergence of colour. These observations gently caution against simplistic notions of parallel rays, instead inviting us to appreciate the splendour of luminous images that produce double shadows edged with colour and create an almost infinite multiplication of radiant halos.