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Every spring, for a few days only, the grounds in front of the parish church of St Mary in my home town of Mold, North Wales becomes a riot of colour as blossom bursts forth.
Every year I photograph this event, hoping for the right light to bring out the loveliness of the scene.
Not as straightforward as you might think.
Lighing too dull and the scene looks flat and uninteresting.
Lighting too bright and the delicate colours and texture of the blossom is lost in a sea of extreme highlights and shadows.
For this scene the 'Goldilocks' (not too dull, not too bright - just right!) lighting is with the sun shining through a light haze of cloud, providing a delicately directional light but with the harshness of full on sunlight tempered back to preserve details in that lovely blossom.
Finally, in the spring of 2017 I was on-site during the half hour or so that the light was just as I wanted it, so I took full advantage with a bevy of photos of the church and blossom from various directions and angles.
This image was taken from across the road, and shows the church clock tower emerging from a sea of blossom with the stone steps providing a nice leading line into the composition.
Filename - church blossom 01.jpg
Camera - Canon 6D
Lens - 24-105mm zoom @ 32mm
Exposure - 1/30 sec @ f11, ISO200
Filters - Polarising filter used to reduce glare and enhance colours.
Location - St Mary's parish church, Mold, North Wales
This image - 533x800px JPEG
Conversion - Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop
Comments - Handheld exposure with image stabilisation
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