Alexandra Hsieh, Palo Alto High School, The Stanford Lake

This was originally meant to be a photo that portrayed the death of something that was once beautiful. Now, however, it means far more than that. The delicate branches sharply contrast with the tree’s gnarly main structure. With the sky gently arching overhead, the tree looks morbid, alien, even. I feel fascinated, rather than horrified by such an atrocity. My eyes long to trace the lines of the tree and follow around the entire photo.