What do you think about when you see the above photograph?  How does it make you feel?

The image below was my original shot taken in color.  For me these two photographs convey very different feelings and emotions.  I remember seeing his old juniper as I was walking along the Colorado Overlook Trail.  The way it was reaching out from the rocks just spoke to me.

This life was struggling so hard to survive.  It is nearly spent now, just a shadow of its former self, but this little tree still hangs on, clinging to life.

For me the color image shows the juxtaposition of the living versus the non-living.  The contrast between the green of the tree and the red rocks.  The soft green grasses reaching out for every last droplet of precious moisture.

But when I was putting together my Needles post, I saw the photo in another way. The black and white seems to bring out more of the textures, more of the harshness of the environment.  The color is gone.  Now everything is about tones and textures.  Somehow the black and white version conveys more of the raw feelings I had when I saw this image — determination, desperation and perseverance in the face of nearly insurmountable hostility.

What do you see?