Your Take Today: Paste BN's top reader photo

Look into her crystal ball — no, really!

Leslie Sigala captured this shot of California's Santa Monica Pier like you (likely) haven't seen before: through a crystal ball placed on a stand in the sand.

"Santa Monica Pier is so beautiful," she said. "I imagine that when people look into a crystal ball for beauty, they would find something like this."

Sigala pointed out that a crystal ball and our eyes have a lot in common: when looked through, both (initially) see images upside down because of their spherical shape.

Luckily, our brain flips images right-side-up on its own, whereas Sigala vertically flipped her photo (which is why the sand is on the top of the shot) so we could see the sunset. She also adjusted the contrast when she processed this photo in Lightroom.

However, she said the most important part of this shot was finding a subject to "put in the ball."

Sigala is a therapist who says she often thinks of how pictures might intrigue or soothe the mind.

"That's why I love taking photos when the season outside (has) warm golden colors," she said. "I tend to notice people feel soothed with photos that have warm colors."

For more from Leslie Sigala, check out her Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and flickr accounts.

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