Oaks and Wildflowers

I found this location in the foothills near
Sonora. It's pasture land as evidenced by the
path. I'm interested as to which you find
preferable the vertical or the horizonatal.
Your comments/critiques are appreciated.
Thank you.

Canon 10D
28-300 Tamron Lens
Manfrotto Tripod

Here is the horizontal version. Which do you prefer?
Thank you.

Robert,
I prefer the vertical. It let's the oak breath a little better and the fg elements are more well defined for me. Just a matter of taste I suppose both lovely images.I do wonder if a shallower dof might work strongly with this shot.The contrast between the black oak and the warm pastels might be solid. The limb in the ulc might be my only true nit. Having lived in the Sonora area for sometime in my youth this invokes many strong memories of that time of year and the magic. The black oaks rolling hills spring flowers and the warm winds of summer starting their way back home......that's good stuff.
Thanks for sharing,
Jay

definitely the vert here Robert, it's just easier to walk into. The horizontal works too with crop the flower trim on the side, imo. I like the blue tones in the bg, but you tweek the purple out of them? Nice framing, makes me want to walk right into the iconic California scene.

ss

The vertical is the ticket on this one, Robert. Keeps one looking right down the path here. This looks a lot like a certain spot in the Santa Rosa Plateau also. A very inviting and peaceful scene.

I prefer the horizontal. I think the smaller tree on the left is nicely balanced by the sloping grass on the right. I agree, the tree limb in the upper left corner is very distracting. Nice image, either way!

Greate image Robert. I prefer the vertical. The tree and the path adds depth to the over all image.

I will join the chorus and go vertical. I'd even consider cropping the bottom a bit as the foreground doesn't thrill me. Very nice shot

Vertical really does it for me, but I would crop bottom to where grass runs into right corner, that's only my opinion though. very well done, I like shots like this.Colors are beautiful.

Gotta go vertical Robert, although I do miss the wildflowers at the lower right of the horizontal. Nice capture. Love the colors.

I prefer the vertical, as well. The balance is better. I agree with a crop from the bottom. With the horizontal I would have moved left to get more of the left-most oak and to bring the path more toward center so that the branch did not intersect the path. The color is nice in both images.

Just curious, Robert, but where is this in relation to Sonora? I'd like to see this place.

--Preston

Thanks all for the critiques. Preston, this location is off of O'Byrnes Ferry Road
off State Rt. 108, approximately 15-20 miles west of Sonora. I was there last
spring for the first time. Someone earlier in the morning had given me the di-
rections while I was photographing wildflowers about 25 miles west off 108 at
Knight's Ferry, another great location for spring wildflowers.

After turning on to O'Byrnes Ferry Rd., I drove several miles
until the road dead ended at a gate. It's pasture land. I never
saw any "no trespassing" signs. Instead of staying on lower
elevations, I treked up the trail on mildly curved switchbacks
and found many beautiful scenics which I've posted here.

I hope that this helps. If you have any more questions, don't
hesitate to ask.

What a beautiful setting! I'm all over the vertical, if you're keeping tabs. That limb in the ULC is a minor distraction, but all in all a very nice image that I'd like to walk into.

one more vertical from me...very nice work Robert.

The vertical it allows the tree to breathe, and the path becomes the center of interest, it gets a little lost in the Horizontal.

Paul

I like the vertical with a bit of the bottom cropped off.

- Dan.