A Stormy Day

In this photo, spring hasn't yet arrived, and the old vines have yet to sprout tender tendrils. Thus, these vines, in the Shenandoah Valley of Amador County, are here in their stark black glory. Dramatic storm clouds form a backdrop.

To achieve this surrealistic effect took a bit of work. This is a High Dynamic Range (HDR) image, made up of seven bracketed photos. The seven images were then composited using Photoshop and Photomatix software. I then added a layer, and on that layer, used a gradient from black to transparent, changed the blending mode to Soft Light, and this darkened the sky even further.