Tree Dormant In Winter; An Exercise In Black & While

 

Nikon D80 10-24mm @ 10mm ISO 320 3-bkts f/22 Lr3 HDR Efex 1 SEP 1

The tree with its branches bare of leaves during its season of dormancy presides over Waring Park in Piru, California, hard by the usually dry Santa Clara River bed.  I am surmising that the dark clumps of vegetation among the branches are nests for some of the local critters, but we did not see any while on the scene.  Whether avians or small mammals or marsupials, the creatures that made their homes up in the branches did so to stay safe from predators who might be roaming the neighborhood.

We were in the area to photograph an old railroad trestle, and I did capture those brackets before I set my sights on this tree.  I actually think the tree was the better overall image.  After the initial HDR processing and merging of the brackets with Nik HDR Efex Pro I processed the final image with Nik Silver Efex Pro, and did a little dodging with the adjustment brush in Lightroom.  I have pre-ordered a copy of Silver Efex Pro 2 and am waiting to get my hands on that, which appears to be even more robust than Silver Exfex Pro 1.