Chollas last light

Gallery: LandscapePosted January 15, 2010203 views12 comments

This was taken at the same time from my previous post(http://www.naturephotographers.net/imagecritique/ic.cgi?a=vp&pr=138451&CGISESSID=6b2768396b3eaae8925c89e458e535d6&u=20471). Had a lot of mixed opinion about the foreground on that. Still thanks for being honest though. So here is one with a less distracting foreground. Some may think that cactus skeleton is a bit distracting, but that was just there and I wanted to capture those rays before it went away. That's why I didn't move it. Will try to clone it out.

Canon 5D
Canon 17-40mm f/4L
f/16 at 5sec for foreground and .6sec for sky.

Larger version;
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4016/4261092887_5070a33b3e_o.jpg

Comments

12 comments

Comment posted by Nicolas Belokurov on January 15, 2010 at 3:14 PM

A delightful scene. It's very moody and the light is great. I really like the luminosity balance of the image. Would be great to view it large.

Registered on July 22, 2009, 41 Posts, 533 Comments

Comment posted by Chikku Baiju on January 15, 2010 at 3:29 PM

Accidentally added the medium version.
Here is the larger version.

Registered on January 9, 2010, 31 Posts, 246 Comments

Comment posted by Carlos Molina on January 15, 2010 at 3:35 PM

Chikku, this is a very dramatic image, love the overall feeling it evokes. Only suggestion I have is to lighten the foreground a little, I think it may help the overall impact of the image.

Registered on March 17, 2009, 40 Posts, 393 Comments

Comment posted by Chris Kayler on January 15, 2010 at 3:46 PM

Great shot Chikku. My first reaction was that I would like to see a bit more space between the ridgeline and the top of the tallest Cholla, but then again, I do really like it as is.

Registered on March 8, 2004, 24 Posts, 94 Comments

Comment posted by Laurent Baig on January 15, 2010 at 3:59 PM

Great colors, you were really able to milk the scene. I'd get rid of the bones as the comp is about perfect otherwise.

Registered on January 12, 2005, 206 Posts, 6784 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Overacker on January 15, 2010 at 6:04 PM

Chikku,

Tough call, but I think I prefer this version for it's simpler and better balanced composition. I think the fore and mid ground could be lightened slightly, but that's always a personal choice. But I really like this desert combo that portrays a number of common elements, including a great sky.

Lon

Registered on November 24, 2006, 521 Posts, 19147 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Holland on January 15, 2010 at 6:51 PM

I really like the composition and foreground detail, but my eye is drawn to the over-bright area between the mountains and sky. I think it just needs a little more careful processing to make that graduation more subtle

Registered on August 18, 2007, 19 Posts, 38 Comments

Comment posted by Ryan Dyar on January 15, 2010 at 8:55 PM

Nice color and the subtle light rays are awesome. I really love the look of backlit Chollas. Well done.

Registered on November 8, 2008, 22 Posts, 129 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Schrayer on January 15, 2010 at 9:37 PM

Overall, I like your composition here. I find myself wondering if this would be improved with a little darker presentation of the background mountains so that it would be almost a silhouetted backdrop for the chollas. Since the detail in the background mountains does not add significantly to the composition I think darkening the background would further simplify the composition and help to focus the viewer's attention on the foreground. Just food for thought.

Registered on May 28, 2004, 114 Posts, 2890 Comments

Comment posted by John Williams on January 16, 2010 at 12:25 PM

I too prefer this one Chikku. Keep up the good work.

Registered on September 6, 2007, 221 Posts, 5985 Comments

Comment posted by István Molnár on January 16, 2010 at 3:13 PM

Nice!

Registered on January 7, 2010, 114 Posts, 704 Comments

Comment posted by Daniel Rappaport on January 17, 2010 at 1:26 AM

Wonderful glowing sky and glowing chollas. The relative darkness of the foreground seems right to me.

Registered on September 9, 2009, 294 Posts, 2006 Comments