Canyon Gloaming

Looks like a wonderful place. I like the matching yellow of the rabbitbush (I think) and the cottonwood as well as the distant cliff. To me, the blue in the sky seems too intense, but otherwise this does a fine job of putting me right there.

Very nice. I like the dark presentation here and the array of colors from top to bottom. That cottonwood stands nicely against the red cliffs and the foreground brush accents the tree nicely.

I like the contrast of the tree against the canyon wall as well as the way that the color in the foreground complements the tree and reinforces it as the main subject. The color in the sky is beautiful as well.

I am curious to know your reasoning for positioning the tree in the center of the frame since it defies convention. I don't say that to be critical or to point out the "rules of composition". I personally think it works as it places the emphasis on the tree as your main subject. I'm interested in your rationale more from the perspective of learning as I have been reading more on composition and thinking about it more critically in my own photography.

Kory,

Great to see a post from you. With a couple minor thoughts I'll mention shortly, I'm really liking this. I like how the yellows/greens and plant at the bottom work together with the clouds up top to frame this lovely desert landscape. Almost like a natural vignette. And I can't speak for you, but perhaps this may help with Brian's question too. It's because of that natural and chosen framing that the centered cottonwood absolutely works, at least IMHO.

The only small nit or observation I have is that the cyan is a little strong in places. Most notably in the slopes of the bg mountain/mesa, but also in the much smaller details of some of the dried brush, which to me would be more gray. And then the blue in the sky is just ever so slightly electric, but certainly within one's personal choice and interpretation.

I like this image more, the more I look at it. Wish there was a larger view!

Lon

The lower two thirds of the image frames that tree really nice against a beautifully dark background, though I feel like the sky (although nicely colored) is doing it's own thing, mainly because of the separation between the two and high contrast. There's certainly an almost-square crop eliminating the sky I like here too, that could absolutely be worth more exploration of this spot in different light. The balance of colors in this rendition feels good to me though, even the cyan doesn't feel all that off to my eye.

Thanks for the comments, guys.

Regarding the cyan, I agree that the image got a tad oversaturated when I converted it for web use. So, here is a slightly less saturated version.

Brian: I went with the tree in the center because, if I tried any other composition, the bushes in the foreground and the peak in the background would not line up with the tree. This exact spot is the ONLY spot around that had such nice flowers in the foreground.

Marc, regarding the sky, you're correct: the cloud placement is not optimal. But that's because it's a national park and we were only registered at this campsite for a single night and thus this is the only chance I got at this image. With enough days out there, I'm sure I could've gotten a more conducive sky. Although, it might take a LOT of days, since most of the time, the sky is Boring Blue out there. In a way, I was lucky to get any clouds at all.