Your Take Today: USA Today's top reader photo

After a storm passed through, the sunset and low clouds created this view for contributor Kip Schmidt.

Schmidt took this photo using a Canon Rebel T3i and a stock lens (18-55mm). He cropped this photo, darkened the colors and adjusted the saturation using Lightroom.

"We had a pretty intense storm this May right around sunset, and the clouds were real low and rolling through downtown Dallas right through the tops of the buildings."

This Traveling Man Sculpture is located east of downtown Dallas in Deep Ellum.

"I had always wanted a good reason to take pictures of it, and the clouds and sunset had already convinced me to grab my camera to go practice, this was my first stop," he said.

Schmidt said the hardest part was picking one photo he liked most. He said with the clouds moving, the scene, colors and cloud formation changed.

Photography is a hobby for Schmidt. In November 2012, Schmidt traveled to Thailand and Cambodia alone to share his stories. He was encouraged by family, friends and strangers to share more photos, while pursuing his passion.

Schmidt believes the reason his photos are so "beautiful" is because he's been fortunate enough to travel to "beautiful" environments while having a camera handy.

"I travel almost exclusively alone, so I try to capture everything I see and do, everywhere I go, so I can share it with people," he said.

In addition, he believes he has the ability to see things differently, position himself in a good angle and recognize an opportunity for a photo that others may not see.

"What was visible one second wasn't the next."

Check out more of Schmidt's photography on his Facebook, Instagram, and Google+ accounts.

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