As things have kept me busy for sometime now I have not had much time to go out and capture any newer images. This was actually taken a couple months ago and I just now had time to scan and process it. I had taken a couple shots including some pre-dawn twilight images, but found I liked this one best of the group with the post dawn side lighting. This was another scene from Joshua Tree National Park on a very clear September morning. The rock itself is quite large standing about 10 feet tall. Perched up on the small pedestal it seemed to me as though it had it's own garden to view in the front area here.
The jpeg seems to have some of that slight conversion & compression banding going on in the sky. Hard to get these 4x5's past some of that, never an issue for large prints from the original scans however.
Wista DXIII 4x5
Schneider APO 150mm lens
Fuji Velvia 50
Posted by Lon Overacker on November 19, 2008 at 8:06 PM
Paul,
No, no, it's a Pacman! I was addicted to that game when I was in college....
I'm sorry, I shouldn't be making fun....
The image is great - love the light and that rock pedestal is fascinating. I think you did a great job framing and composing this. An alternate suggestion (not a nit) would be about a 15-20% crop of the bottom to make it a square. The shape of the pacman rock, yucca and other supporting rocks makes for a nice square format. Not sure how you feel about the square format - but honestly this works very nicely as captured and presented.
Glad to see you working on some images and posting.
Hey Lon, thanks for the review. Ya, I thought the same thing when I scrolled up and down, so your observation of squaring is perfect with my line of thoughts too.
You know, I kept looking at this guy and for life of me I could not think of exactly what it reminded me of, hence the basic Smiley Face name. But, I now truly recall the Pacman image coming to life here.
JTNP has numerous rock formations out there and this is just an example.
Posted by Robert Dayton on November 19, 2008 at 8:38 PM
Very imaginative, Paul. When I go to Joshua Tree NP, I prefer photographing boulders and rocks more than the Joshua Trees.
Posted by Steve Sieren on November 19, 2008 at 11:17 PM
Glad to see you posting Paul.
Haven't seen this formation at all before. Nice find. Looks like it's ready to tip. Good side lighting with a nice sky gradient. Not talking about the banding either. That's easily ignored.
Maybe a cyclops Pac Man? With a butt chin. See what Lon started.
Robert, I agree, the rocks are the main focus for most of my images out there too. I do have a mix of cacti and yuccas also in many shots, but the joshuas almost seem secondary subjects in most cases oddly enough.
Steve, thanks for the comments here. All new name suggestions will be taken under very serious consideration.
Posted by Harley Goldman on November 20, 2008 at 5:16 PM
Nice rendition of Pac Butt Man. I like the crop idea too. It really accents the yucca that way, along with the other elements.
I need to get out to J-Tree more. I find it a tough, tough place to come away with much. I love cruising around and it is beautiful, I have just had a hard time finding comps that work for me. This one is nicely done.
> " find it a tough, tough place to come away with much. I love cruising around and it is beautiful, I have just had a hard time finding comps that work for me."
< are dead on.
My wife has heard me say this upon many returns from there over the years. It has gotten a bit better for me lately, I guess because of a long process of elimination more so then anything else. Viewing the wonderful place it sure would seem to be easy enough to obtain some real killer shots, but not easily done out there IMHO.
Posted by Anil Rao on November 20, 2008 at 9:17 PM
Hi Paul,
The composition and subject matter are lovely but when you add in the beautiful light you have here, it all falls into place nicely. The resulting images is is wonderful. Well done!
Posted by Eric Good on November 24, 2008 at 3:39 AM
Sunrise's in JT are amongst my favorite places to view them. Those rocks take on a beauty during sunrises that's often hard to describe let alone capture. I really enjoy the warmth and definition that this morning light gives all the wonderful elements captured here. I can almost hear that unmistakable crunch that results from every footstep as you walk through a basin covered in that JT gravel, just by looking at this. Now that gas is nearly $2 a gallon and it's colder, maybe I should get back out there myself. Good stuff and thanks for sharing.
Discussion
9 repliesThe jpeg seems to have some of that slight conversion & compression banding going on in the sky. Hard to get these 4x5's past some of that, never an issue for large prints from the original scans however.
Wista DXIII 4x5
Schneider APO 150mm lens
Fuji Velvia 50
No, no, it's a Pacman! I was addicted to that game when I was in college....
I'm sorry, I shouldn't be making fun....
The image is great - love the light and that rock pedestal is fascinating. I think you did a great job framing and composing this. An alternate suggestion (not a nit) would be about a 15-20% crop of the bottom to make it a square. The shape of the pacman rock, yucca and other supporting rocks makes for a nice square format. Not sure how you feel about the square format - but honestly this works very nicely as captured and presented.
Glad to see you working on some images and posting.
Lon
You know, I kept looking at this guy and for life of me I could not think of exactly what it reminded me of, hence the basic Smiley Face name. But, I now truly recall the Pacman image coming to life here.
JTNP has numerous rock formations out there and this is just an example.
Haven't seen this formation at all before. Nice find. Looks like it's ready to tip. Good side lighting with a nice sky gradient. Not talking about the banding either. That's easily ignored.
Maybe a cyclops Pac Man? With a butt chin. See what Lon started.
Steve, thanks for the comments here.
I need to get out to J-Tree more. I find it a tough, tough place to come away with much. I love cruising around and it is beautiful, I have just had a hard time finding comps that work for me. This one is nicely done.
> " find it a tough, tough place to come away with much. I love cruising around and it is beautiful, I have just had a hard time finding comps that work for me."
< are dead on.
My wife has heard me say this upon many returns from there over the years. It has gotten a bit better for me lately, I guess because of a long process of elimination more so then anything else. Viewing the wonderful place it sure would seem to be easy enough to obtain some real killer shots, but not easily done out there IMHO.
The composition and subject matter are lovely but when you add in the beautiful light you have here, it all falls into place nicely. The resulting images is is wonderful. Well done!