Just another afternoon in the neighborhood.

Used a small softbox on a monopod with the Nikon CLS system (D300 and SB800) for fill light.

You’ve got to love these hands.

I’ve passed quite often past this roadside memorial in the median of a quiet neighborhood street with a 25 mph speed limit. Flanking the median are quiet streets, well kempt lawns and homes, city parks, and schools.

Waited for the set of days in the spring when morning light settled across only the memorial tree and not the adjacent trunks. Wanted to shoot during the week when commuters began their trek to the office. And, had to worry about the weather being cloudy which would have ruined the photo.

Next great problem was the exposure. The strong morning light created bright highlights on the plastic flowers and deep shadows on the west side of the tree trunks.

I use aperture priority for almost ever image dialing over or under exposure to compensate for subject lighting. Dialed 1-1/3rd strop underexposure after checking the histogram on a straight exposure.

Chose the 300mm to compress the depth and shot at f5 to narrow the depth of field.

The plan was to shoot golfers not important enough or rich enough to attend the final day of The Memorial Tournament in Dublin. A miniature golf course adjacent to a driving range was the perfect locale. All I needed was a little luck and the right setting.

Found both.

Stood atop a berm leading to the raised fountain pool at the miniature golf course and waited as the sun threw shadows across the two scenes.