Battered

. . .But Unbowed
Sony A77II
Sony 70-400G @ 210mm, CPL
ISO 200, 1/8 @ f16
The Mercer Arboretum in Northeast Houston is one of my favorite haunts for water lilies, tropical plants, butterflies and dragon flies. I had planned to get over there this week for the challenge but didn’t make it. This is from 2017 before hurricane Harvey devastated the place. (Thankfully fully recovered now.) The Arboretum then was recovering from an earlier flood and a severe winter. This palm frond seemed to epitomize the tenacity of life and the park.


And this is the same frond shot with my A77II in Illustration Mode.

All comments welcome.>=))>

You may only download this image to demonstrate post-processing techniques.

Bill, Palm fronds make nicely striking graphic images. I like the zoom effect of the radiating lines and the clear signs of it’s age. The single arching bit is a nice change of pace. The illustration mode view takes good advantage of the graphics as it adds some interesting character. I think I like it a bit better than the original.

Very nice, Bill. I love the composition very much. Those Palm fronds just lead the eye right into the frame to the the off centered circle. I think I like the second shot best as well. It is amazing how nature recovers from storms, etc.