I have always liked the way that strong sunlight can light up a subject and leave the background dark.

This is a late afternoon shot with the sun shining into the back of these daylilies. The sun is just above the trees in my back yard creating a black background with the shade of the large trees. Sometimes the leaves of the trees are radiant with the setting sun, but I enjoy isolating a subject, like these flowers, that seems to have caught the radiance of the sun, making the scene almost magical.

What makes this picture attractive to me is the contrast of light and dark. The intense color certainly helps, but the difference between light and dark is accentuated. The dark makes the light pop, and the bright colors stand in contrast to the dark background. It doesn't take much light to create a contrast with the shadowed darkness. So it is with our lives. We need just a little light, and the darkness recedes. Just a little brightness can make the gloom disappear.