Clouds blocked the view of the mountain in the background, but left a sun spot on the pine trees on top of the foreground hill.
Seemed almost ethereal....

A bit of serendipity hit us! The sun spot was moving right across the hills and I just happened to see it, without time to set up the shot with lens choice and perfect settings.
Serendipitous that I wasn't given time to ruin the shot!
The brilliance of the shot seems to have benefitted from the slightly softer zoom and the bit of diffraction from the f:27 aperture.
And I'm not sure my focus was spot on either.
Serendipity, I say!

[MikeNArk]

Very attractive snow scape. The cluster of pines covered in snow along the ridge are pretty special. Getting the shot with the right light can certainly outweigh preparation. Great shot.

[angkymac]

Very attractive snow scape. The cluster of pines covered in snow along the ridge are pretty special. Getting the shot with the right light can certainly outweigh preparation. Great shot.

Good way to put it: right light vs. prep.
Thanks for the perspective.
Angky.