Washing at Twilight

And here's a very quick post of three pictures I thought you would enjoy.  I came across this wash tub several years ago at an annual doll show, and every year it was still there, waiting.  In March, it finally came howe with me.

Gypsie thought it would be a great idea to do the wash with Grace, but somehow they didn't get much done.  Instead, they posed for pictures.
Nice one, guys.

In all honesty, I was having a devilish time trying to get the lighting I was after.  I became so frustrated that I went into the house, giving up until morning.  

However, I went back out about a half hour later, and there it was.  The lovely, hazy, deliciously fire-filled sun, poised perfectly for my photos.  So I took them.  

There are a few elements going for me here:  The sun is just low enough that I can get it into frame, but not so low that it's directly behind her head (causing a white out).  The sun is also filtering through something--here, the trees--which makes its light soft and sparkly.  Without that, the direct rays would be too harsh and my pictures would have ended up far brighter and lacking contrast.  Sometimes this look is desired, but it wasn't what I had in mind.  

Anyway, I'm glad I came back outside.