Day 356: Willow, willow, burning bright

With the clocks going forward at the weekend, I was hoping to get down to Kits Beach after dinner to catch the last of the light before the sun set. I was late getting there and the shots I had in mind were not possible, so I wandered around looking for alternatives, bracing myself against the strong wind. A few small branches had come down off some of the trees, now roped off by yellow "incident" tape. I had just returned to the car when the streetlight shining on the weeping willows caught my eye. My first photos weren't anything special, but they gave me an idea. I used automatic white balance to get those nice blue dusk skies, and crouched down low next to the streetlight, keeping it off the lens so it didn't flare. About a half-second exposure was enough to show the willow branches waving in the wind, the lower portions of which looked like they were on fire. The low angle also gave it a bit of an auroral appearance, which I really like. I went home happy.

Weeping willow lit by streetlamp