Peeling Cinnamon Bark in Puerto Cabello

Midday sunlight falls through a canopy of broad leaves, creating shifting patches of brightness and shadow on the rough, brown trunk of a cinnamon tree. A hand grips a small wooden tool, lifting a strip of bark to reveal the pale, fibrous layer beneath. Damp ground surrounds the tree base, with thin sheets of fog pooling in the low depressions of the earth. The shallow depth of field blurs the background vegetation, keeping the focus sharp on the peeling bark and the texture of the tree. A sliver of light catches the edge of the lifted bark, highlighting its curling, paper-thin form against the darker soil.