The only remaining twig, fighting the last battle against the incoming storm clouds. All the other ones have been washed away, or struck by lightning or something. I ripped this plant life off a bush of some sort in our yard (it’s a jungle out there), because it has a nice shape and pattern of leaves. It fit the bright space in the sky well, so I held it up with one hand while snapping the shot with the other.

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Canon PowerShot A620, …

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A tree branch swaying in the wind, with a UPS truck on the highway behind it. I like how the light and blur turned out. I closed down all the way (F22) so I could use a 1/20 second shutter speed, then holding the camera steady while snapping away to get this. The branch is about to leave this world; it’s just your imagination! That’s what makes it ephemeral.

Canon Rebel XTi, EF 50mm 1:1.4, 1/20, F22, 50mm, ISO100, 2008-05-09T15:05:17-04, 20080509-190517rxt

Source image. I dodged (brightened) the leaves and added contrast with the curves …

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An orange and yellow sunset, framed by the silhouettes of evergreen leaves. This is from my back yard; the trees and power lines represent the fast pace of life in the modern neighborhood.

Fujifilm FinePix A360, 1/667, F4.7, 17.4mm, ISO64, 2006-02-18T18:02:56-04, 2006-02-18_18h02m56

Source image. I brightened up parts, added color, and made the gray leaves black.

More of the Leafy Sunset series.

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Leaves and branches set against a dark yellow sunset. The vines may be distracting, but they have a pattern all their own, which meshes well with the colorful yet ominous sky.

Fujifilm FinePix A360, 1/63, F4.7, 17.4mm, ISO64, 2006-01-13T17:40:46-05, 2006-01-13_17h40m46

Source image. Standard darkening and contrast added through curves here. I had to tone down the colors a bit, as they went out of gamut after the contrast enhancements (that happens often in RGB color spaces).

More of the Leafy Sunset series.

Free high-res stock image.

Photo of tree branches and leaves with a lively blue sky as the backdrop. Hope you find this useful.

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Download the source image (9MB, Canon Rebel XTi RAW file).

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Credit me as Richard X. Thripp, and link back to richardxthripp.thripp.com or rxthripp.com. Thanks!

Canon Rebel XTi, EFS 18-55mm, 1/80, F13, 18mm, ISO100, 2008-01-25T10:51:48-05, 20080125-155148rxt

Richard's picks:

The sky turned purple in this sunset, so I got this photo of the clouds with some bare trees in front. The clouds were darker above, which you can see at the top of the frame.

Canon Rebel XTi, EF 50mm 1:1.4, 1/80, F2.2, 50mm, ISO400, 2008-01-05T17:53:56-05, 20080105-225356rxt

Source image. I darkened the clouds at the top, shifted the colors to be more purple, and improved the contrast.

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Took this at 7 A.M. when it was foggy out… a great time to take pictures; this wouldn’t have the same mood in mid-day.

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Canon Rebel XTi, EFS 18-55mm, 1/50, F5.6, 55mm, ISO400, 2008-02-04T07:11:43-05, 20080204-121143rxt

Source image. Improved contrast and vignetting.

Free high-res stock image.