Classic Saguaro

I just spent a couple of days down in Arizona visiting my folks and managed to get to Saguaro National Park for a few hours. The light was far from special so I am attempting black and white again. You can find the color version at this link.. Do either of these work for you? I find it very difficult to isolate these and the few that I managed to isolate well were not perfect specimens. You can also find a few other shots here.

To be brutally honest, it looks like a B&W shot of a Saguaro. The color might work for Stock, i wouldnt know. On the other hand, the top color shot (to the left) in your link is great, much more interesting than this shot, i like the perspective and comp.

A bit too bullseyed for my taste; I like some of your color shots, though, including the one Stan mentioned. I also like the Agave abstract.

I took a 4-day cruise-through of Tucson (a day in Saguaro, one in Organ Pipe Cactus, one day driving down, and one driving back through the Painted Desert...) a few years back and was mostly disappointed in my results. The area really deserves more than a drive-by.

Erik, you're making me miss Arizona! The black and white version honestly doesn't do much for me. The color version is better. You did get some really nice images and I'm particularly fond of the "Red Desert Pano". Nice work!

Thanks guys! I really do appreciate having somewhere that I can get honest feedback. Thank you!

You've got some really nice shots in the gallery, Erik. Like the others, the b&w isn't working for me; the color version is more appealing, but feels a little static. I really like 495, 511, 517 and 519. Not only a treat for the eyes, but educational - I never knew that it was "mourning" dove; I had always thought it was "morning" dove.

Erik, I'm a BIG fan of your work, believe me, but I'm a firm believer in, "you can't make chicken soup without a chicken", and I may be wrong, but you can't make great photos without great light. The B&W shot doesn't work for me either. It's too flat, not enough contrast, (the way I like my B&W's). Try adusting the contrast/brightness in PS, I think it will improve this image. I'll be in Estes next month. Hopefully I'll get a chance to stop by.

Rick, a number of those shots were from last year when I was there for a full day. I posted some of them here last year and was told that it was not "Morning Dove" but "Mourning Dove". I couldn't believe it, but as is often the case, the folks here on the forum were rightt. Here's a link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mourning_Dove.

Count me in as preferring the color shot, too. I may be a little biased because I shoot down there every spring, and always stay with the color images.
Your shots are making me anxious for my next trip down there in about 6 weeks!