The forest was a total delight.  The air was scented with the pine trees and the hot sunshine made patterns of light and shade - truly a day to savour the beauty of the Cypriot countryside.

So how to capture that in pictures? 

I sat and thought about it, and came up with three elements that made it so pleasant:  the pine trees themselves, the light and shade and the gentle movement of the trees in the slight breeze.

Sometimes a literal approach just doesn't cut it.  I tried framing up tightly, but somehow I wasn't getting what I felt. 

Then I took a much more abstract approach.  Turn the shutter speed right down - to 1/10th of a second as I remember.  And wave the camera about a bit.

That got me what I wanted in that it brought all the three elements of trees, light and shade and movement together. 

Look at the pictures and you'll say they're a product of Photoshop.  They're not.  In fact they've had very little done to them beyond jacking the contrast up a bit.

Sometimes you have to go way beyond what's normal to get the pictures you want. 

Judge for yourself - go to my album of pictures of Panayia.