The first thing I thought of, because of your title, is a leaf blower. :D Am I right? I had considered using one as well. He-he. The photo is "ok". I think it needs something more for scope and context. A tree or a building, etc... The lighting is also funny. There's a big shady spot in the lower right - were you blocking the sun while holding the camera or something? Some of the lighter colored leaves are overexposed. If you were really sold on this image you could have spent a little time using some editing tools like a burn brush or layer to tone the hotspots down a little. Just some observations. Good luck in the challenge.
I doubt it was 180 mph - leafblower, maybe. :-) Good motion capture of the leaves, but needs a little more in content/context as a standalone photo, in my opinion.