Gunnison Area Sage Work

I've been working in the sage quite a bit and made a trip to Gunnison this week for songbirds and landscapes - now that sage grouse lekking season has passed.

I tried something new and it rreally wasn't that painful. This is a ball cactus, 4 exposures combined for DOF blending. The flower is smaller than a dime. I used my ancient 70-180mm macro and only had my giant Gitzo with King Cobra head - it was a very weird combo!

Aspen in sage.

Hartman's tree.

Green-tailed Towhee.

I'm really liking the 1st and 4th ones. The first one is almost hypnotic!

Me, too! And 2 and 3. Your dramatic/low clouds in #2 & #3 gave me a woody.

Great images! Like the subtle colors in the cactus. Great pose on the towhee as well.

Really like these and they help me make some route decisions on an upcoming road trip. Nashville to Las Vegas to Missoula and back. In a round about way.
Mike

Like them all. As a cactus flower enthusiast, my rankings are biased.

Wondering if a BW conversion of 2 and 3 would bring out more emotion.

Bill Brennan

That 1st one is beeeuuuutiful , also like the last one.

Another big fan of #'1 & 4. I just love that particular DOF you have with the cactus flower!
I've rarely seen a cactus flower framed in such an appealing way.
And of course, you captured the towhee in a perfect pose.
The b&w suggestion for the middle two may be a good idea.

Dave, I really like the first 2 the best. I would aklso like to see the second one in a B&W conversion, but not sure if I would prefer it over the color or not unless I saw them side by side. nice work on these.

Not sure how I missed this thread. Great series, Dave. 1 and 2 are my favorites.

The cactus is interesting, but its very strange that certain parts are abruptly out of focus between segments which are in focus. I like the series on the whole.

Mel-

Great set - liked all of them.

That first shot is mesmerizing!

Excellent collection! And a great variety of shots. My favorite would be #1 as well.