Valley of Fire

I really like the colors in this image. They are a bit exaggerated but in a positive way. They make the viewer appreciate them more by making them more aware of them. I find the composition a bit awkward in that we look through the hole and then to the left desert and back to the hole. Back and forth. Perhaps raising the shadows and adding contrast there would make their texture more prominent. There is some wonderful reddish glow in some of the shadows. Would not want to lose that.  

Jan: I lived in Las Vegas many years ago and got out to the valley a couple of times but that was in my pre-photography life. I'm sorry I missed the opportunity. You've done well here. I'm OK with the comp but I do think bringing the shadows up would be a worthwhile improvement. Overall still fine work.>=))>

Jan, the larger version of this is quite dramatic.  Yes, it's a challenging comp., that I think works well as my eyes pop back and forth across the frame.

Jan, my first response to this was that the composition was unbalanced with the heavy dark area to the right. As I looked at it more, I started to see an interesting figure/ground study that I really like. I don't know what effect lightening up the shadows would have on this, but it could certainly be worth looking at.

This is a bit of an unconventional composition that at first glance feels a bit heavy on the right hand side.  But the more I look at it I think it works.  I think that the color looks appropriate on my monitor.