A photograph of some silhouetted frosted cow parsley taken near the River Evenlode near Shipton-under-Wychwood in the Cotswolds, UK – this was a short walk from home on a bright, but chilly, morning after a very cold night (well, cold for us – around -5ºC) between Christmas and New Year 2014.

Taken ‘contre-jour’, I wasn’t sure quite how well it would come out (it was difficult to review at the time), but there is no flare and, after some tweaks in Lightroom, the rim lighting on the cow parsley is superb!  It stands out beautifully against the sky!  I even caught some con trails from some high flying aircraft.  This shot was taken quite close (maybe 30cm) from the cow parsley, which has thrown the trees in the background out of focus nicely.  Perhaps a lower angle so as to eliminate the background would be even better!

Post processing consisted of adding a slight neutral gradient to pull back the sky, reducing the highlights, and boosting the shadows – finally, I cropped and sharpened.

Technical details:

Fuji X-E1;18mm(XF 18-55mm f2.8-4 R LM OIS);f/5.6;1/3000s;ISO200; Handheld;