Before and After

Sometimes it's fun to compare the original straight out of the camera image with the final version. I took a few exposures of this tree at the Streamside Camp and Conference center last fall at the same time I took the shots of the floating leaves. I was struck by the branches first and the backlighting second.





It sat languishing in the archives for 6 months while I tried to figure out what to do with it. The challenge became how to show off what was most dramatic and what struck me in the first place. Eventually, I decided to go for the high contrast B&W look to not only highlight the branches and backlighting, but also the texture in the bark. What do you think?