Lights at Hardwick Park Live

So I had been trying to get a decent sunset shot up at Hardwick Park for 2 days before I had any success. Two days running I had left it too late to leave the house after getting in from work and having my Tea (Dinner to those of a southern persuasion). The sky wasn’t really ideal for either of those two days anyway, but a nice haze was enveloping the sun resulting in an intriguing, glowing orange ball that I thought would look great reflected in the surface of the lake at Hardwick park. It was one of those situations where I could see the sun sinking lower and lower into the horizon the closer I got to my shoot, but on both occasions I was too slow. Getting old and unfit now I guess. However on the Friday I elected not to mess about and went to the park directly from work so was there in good time. As it happens the shot I was after didn’t really work out, but Friday was the first night of the Hardwick park Live event, featuring acts such as Adam and the Ants, Scouting for Girls and Simple Minds. I was virtually alone at my location and I could here the music clear as a bell as the sound carried across the lake with the sun sinking behind a copse of trees on the other side of the lake. It was when I had packed away and was heading back to the car that I spotted the photo below. The lane had been festooned with lights to guide revelers towards the stage area and I thought it would make a great shot. I quickly scouted a few Positions from which to take the shot, eventually deciding it would be best to ditch the wide angle lens. I fitted the 50mm prime, selected a smallish aperture of 16 and set up the shot as people wandered by on their way to the gig. I was hoping that the long exposure would blend the moving people away, and it did to a large degree, but I am not all that happy with the blurring at the end of the lane (or the lens flare for that matter). However I quite like the overall effect so I thought I would share it here.