Rocks in the Park

Gallery: LandscapePosted July 13, 2011135 views3 comments

Thunderbird Park is an urban mountain park in the northwest area of Phoenix. I will be moving to this area next month, and took a trip for a job interview. While incredibly convenient, this is also an incredibly difficult place to shoot landscapes due to the sparseness of beautiful Sonoran vegetation, the relatively undramatic shape of the hills, and the almost unending expanses of urban sprawl that are visible in all directions. Further increasing the difficultly, I only have a 18-55mm kit lens at my disposal. On the day I was here, there was an incredible sunset, but seemingly every composition I liked would require a telephoto lens or a super wide angle lens, neither of which I had. About 20 minutes before sunset, I took the shot that I have posted here. I am pleased with the composition, as these rocks were about the most interesting subject I could find on the ground (the sky is another story). I'm happy I was able to find an intimate scene so as not to have the ugly urban sprawl in the shot. I do wish I would have waited until sunset to see what this composition was like under the red and magenta colored light, as I find most of my good shots are under these similar lighting conditions (yellow pre-sunset side-light, blue sky with white clouds). Any and all critiques and comments welcome!

Canon T1i @ 18mm cropped
ISO 100
f/22
.6 sec.

Comments

3 comments

Comment posted by Richard Teller on July 13, 2011 at 5:20 PM

I have looked at this image for awhile. The comp is nice, but the light is a bit harsh. The clouds add to the image. I have been to the Phoenix several times and a couple of my favorite places to go there are South Park, the largest city park in the U.S., and Lost Dutchman State Park. Also if you like birds the Gilbert Water Ranch in Gilbert, AZ is a great place to watch and take pics. Hope you have an easy move.

Registered on August 23, 2010, 1162 Posts, 6692 Comments

Comment posted by Randall Smith on July 15, 2011 at 5:18 PM

Jake: Perhaps it's the time of day the image was taken, but the contrast is rather harsh and there are multiple areas lost in the shadows. Also, I would clone out the branches in the upper left hand corner as they are a distraction from the central theme and focus of the image. They intrude into the image and sky, but don't add to the composition. Warming the image during postprocessing could also help create a more intimate feel. Hope this helps. Randall

Registered on June 13, 2009, 30 Posts, 69 Comments

Comment posted by John Williams on July 16, 2011 at 9:44 PM

I'll bet you have fun exploring and learning the desert. I wasn't photographing the 30 some years I lived in AZ. How I wish I had been.

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