I made this picture of bare Aspens last Fall against the background of a Cobalt Blue, classic Utah sky. I loved how the trees seemed to dance in the air – without moving, just because we would see their outstretched branches. But the picture seemed to lack something – that bare blue sky was almost too stark for the mood I wanted to express. So, playin’ around the other day, I layered over it a textured sky I had gotten from a friend. It made a huge difference in the effect this picture had on me. It feels wintry, now, and looks like snow is falling. Sometimes, you make a picture in response to something that you can’t quite express at the moment, and the picture won’t work until you take it a little further in processing. This might be too much processing for some of you reading this, but as an artist, I like to explore adding texture and mood to some of my photographs that will be used as wall decor.

Addendum to my post announcing Topaz Labs’ B&W Effects: