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Photographer_Peter_MacDonald_in_Italy

I sometimes think the word epiphany is over used and misunderstood

There was no manifestation of god or a sudden insight into the essential meaning of life, so this is about as close as I will ever come to an epiphany.

High up on the slopes of Chianti, there’s a little village called Lamole. which has a superb restaurant, a church and is surrounded by vineyards.

When I pulled up in front of the church one morning and got out of my car I heard beautiful music coming from inside.

I poked my head tentatively through the front door to see where it was coming from, thinking it was a recording.

The scene in this photo tells it all.

Five chaps in T-shirts and jeans, a quintet rehearsing for an upcoming festival playing Vivaldi’s Four Seasons in an exquisite setting.

There was not another soul around, just me and the players. For an hour I sat listening to them rehearse the four violin concertos.

The dome above the altar made for perfect acoustics and indeed a truly memorable experience for me.

Italy is full of surprises.

From a photographic point of view this is no great shot (I wasn’t about to disturb the moment), but it does illustrate my little story. Taken with available light with a Fuji X100s f4.0. shutter 1/40th sec, ISO 3200