Convallaria majalis

• English: Lily of the valley
• Swedish: Liljekonvalj
• Finnish: Kielo

Lily of the valley is the national flower of Finland. It was voted such back in the 60s and it’s no surprise – it is a truly elegant flower with a scent that is hardly surpassed in the natural world. I don’t know why I only had one picture of the lily in my photo database because it is a fairly common flower, but I was determined to fix the issue after I found several places where the flower grows abundant. So much so that I became a little bit overconfident – I had an idea in my head and I thought that the photo would pretty much take itself if I just pointed the camera in the right direction. Well, I crash landed in that respect and the photos seem to be hard work but I have a few days left to improve my efforts, until the short blooming season of the lily of the valley comes to an end.As for the light, it doesn’t really matter – this is one of those subjects which looks equally good in the sun and in shade. In this case, the patchy light in the forest provided a spotlight on the flower itself, while shading the leaves around. It’s just a matter of waiting for the right moment.

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Image specs: ISO 200, f5.0, 1/1250, Canon 300mm f4L w/ 31mm ext. tube