Sun-kissed Branch

I took this photo today while challenging myself to find interesting natural subjects at eye-level. Many times, I'm either looking slightly up or getting really close to the ground, but today I found some great patterns on branches and twigs. I'm really happy with the background contours of this shot and I also like the crop, although it took me some time to finally end up at a square crop with the branches exiting near the corners.

Comments and critiques welcome!

Canon Rebel XTi
Sigma 50mm f/2.8 EX DG Macro @ 50mm
1/320 at f/8
ISO 200
handheld (breezy, chilly day)
slight crop to square
PP in PS and Color Effex Pro 4.0
Lawrence Park, March 24, 2013