On the claret cup bandwagon

Got home last night from 9 days in SE Utah! What a blast! Escalante, Burr Trail, Goblin Valley, Cedar Mesa, Goosenecks of the San Juan, Valley of the Gods, Canyonlands-Maze district, oh my! I was on my own for the first 5 days and met up with Darren Kilgore and Mel Ladewig for the Maze trek Wed-Sat.
Over 1000 digital shots and 41 sheets of film, I've got some welcome work ahead .

I was really digging the claret cup and fishhook cactus bloooming all over the place. This one positioned itself next to the "House on Fire" ruin in South Mule Canyon. This isn't my favorite comp but I liked being able to include some flowers.

This was quickly processed in LR.

Can't contain my enthusiasm! This is another quick LR job against a sunrise shot over the Maze from yesterday morning (Saturday). What an incredible place! I'm sad it took me 45 years to get there.

More to follow soon (I hope). Comments and critiques always welcome.

Wow, sRGB or Jpeg is not being friendly, the ruin shot is significantly less orange in the original, plus there is a lot more detail in the maze shot. Oh well, something to watch for as I process this batch.

Nice shots and concur the entire area is great! My schedule was fixed, but really would have been nice to have been with another photographer like yourself... maybe next year couple of us could go, or perhaps in the fall.

I too have noticed some issues converting from RAW to jpgs with colors a touch off, so you are not alone, but still nice imagery, cant wait to see more.

Guess I was a couple of weeks early on the blooming cactus, I did not see any.

Really like the comp on the first image. Maybe just a little more room below the cactus.

Both are Wonderful shots Kalin. I really like the way you included the cactus flowers in your comp. Quick LR job or not the maze shot is Beautiful! Can't wait to see more.

Thanks folks!