thanks so much guys for your input!!! this one just had a bit of a surreal feel to it...almost like a fairy tale where where one second everything looks normal, and then the next second you see that these woods are filled with dread and something bad. Strange, Misha, in that i feel like I'm in Hansel & Gretel's world...better be careful 'cause things aren't what they seem!!! But then sometimes I'm like William...look at it and just like it for what it is. LOL about salad, Doug. I take a lot of pics of trees, and someone once asked what i'm takin' a pic of. I said, "Trees!" Trees are one of my fav. subjects to shoot, and i do believe it can be a bit challenging sometimes to capture them in such a way that it doesn't turn out like "salad." LOL! Maybe that's where lighting and mood and all that comes in. i dunno. but maybe that's the other thing that i don't like about this image. Maybe there's not a strong enough focal point. When i look at this one, my eyes tend to focus in the dark areas behind the branches. i keep expecting to see something back there in the shadows. I keep feeling like something/someone is in those woods watchin' me. and Misha, what you did with my image certainly enhances that feel. *shivers* When I compare my original with what you did...well mine isn't nearly as frightening...perhaps it's just a squirrel or deer back there. Look at what you did, Misha. You made the hairs rise on my arms. Do you see those two yellow "eyes" in the darkness between the branches? I do!!!! and they are BIG eyes!!! I took this image in Gulf Shores, Alabama. It's right across the street from the beach and is part of a national forest...protected and surrounded by sand dunes. i wonder if it's a wild boar or perhaps a horse???