Yeah, that effect has been done by a heavy vignette on the RAW file and then burning in the cloud area. I actually left the tree alone apart from a bit of mid-tone dodging on the trunk. I kept the contrast quite low to give the shot an 'aged' look so it fits with the title.
I needed some black and white stuff for competitions as I was desperately short so I didn't want just the 'normal' silhouette tree shot.
Thanks for the comments
