Posted by John Williams on April 20, 2008 at 1:45 PM
Here's another from my AZ trip last month. I tried to minimize the bland sky by getting low and shooting up at the cholla, using the cholla skeleton to lead into the photo. I shot towards the sun to catch the poppy glow, but is the light just too harsh to work?
Posted by Adrian Klein on April 20, 2008 at 1:52 PM
Hi John. I like the poppies here and I know the midday sun is hard to work with. The harsh sun is not great but what bothers me more is the one branch poking up on the right out of the mountain. Looks like a beautiful place to be though!
Posted by Darren White on April 20, 2008 at 2:11 PM
John, I like the color you have here...very nice......I do agree with Adrian on the one branch that goes way up into the sky....
This is very colorful, John, and shows off the desert habitat nicely. The light is harsh but not a scene wrecker, imo. I wish the angle of your shot allowed for a crop from the top to lose the sky and make the scene more intimate. I tried scrolling the image to look at such a crop, but I believe too much of the cholla is lost. Darn. I think you got the poppies looking super. And I love the cholla in there.
Posted by Larry Gloth on April 21, 2008 at 5:39 AM
I don't mind the light. In fact, thanks for reminding me that you don't necessarily need to put the camera away in the middle of the day. The poppies are awesome but that dang right branch is too high. I like the bend in it above the fork, if there is a way to creatively clone it to just above the line of poppies it would work. Beautiful place and nice shot anyway.
Posted by Cliff Dodge on April 21, 2008 at 1:10 PM
Nice poppies in the hot sun! I may have moved to the left some to get that 'cactus' on the right in the middle of the forks of the branch and it may also have moved the middle branch away from the center cactus....and then taken a chain saw and removed the branch sticking up in the sky......well, ok, i wouldnt of. :)
Posted by Marc Dilley on April 21, 2008 at 1:53 PM
John: Those cholla are awesome and you have captured some fascinating specimens! The poppies are icing on this cake. Next time you just need to bring an 8' ladder! Seriously, the harsh sun makes the petals very bright indeed but well within range and enjoyable viewing. The comp is busy but it sort of grows on me. Since it is so close, I would dodge the skeleton cholla stem on the R edge of the scene so we can see more of it's delicate structure.
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