Moab Spring in Balance

Hey! Here's my Sunday morning sunrise attempt on Balanced Rock. I was hoping the clouds would come over the top, but I think I scared them away... I'd love some feedback on this. I need serious improvement on my landscapes and have been nervous to ask such a talented group. Help!
JR and I had such a great time enjoying the scenery last weekend and getting to meet everyone. I hope to run into all of you more often!
Anne
**Edit: compression didn't do me any favors. I assure you this is all sharp!**

That's the Balanced Rock? You certainly show a different perspective then I've ever seen from here before.
I like your composition. Once again (see Scott Bacon's work), some well placed flowers work well in anchoring the image. They lead my eye effortlessly up to 'Balanced Rockasaurus'.
Nice color contrasts, too. I'd be pleased to call this one my own, Anne. It was a great pleasure meeting you last Saturday!

Looks great Anne. The flowers are a great find for your foreground element, and really pop out against the red background!

The perspective on this one is a little disconcerting. The rock is leaning a little too unnaturally for me. Have you tried playing with the lens correction tools in Lightroom? You might also be able to adjust the leaning/falling in the foreground. Other than that, I love the soft, natural tones and color and the primrose is absolutely wonderful.

It was awesome to meet you and JR. Looking forward to more get-togethers!

pretty cool, Anne. The exposure and tones are well handled here and shows excellent sharpness. I especially like how you got real close to the flowers - they are large enough in the frame to provide a nice fg anchor leading in to the image. I am with Scott about the perspective, though. The rock looks like it is going to topple backward and the distortion in the flowers feels awkward. I think an even lower angle could have helped with both of those, though you still might have needed to use some lens correction tools.

Nice Anne. I like the composition. Flowers are great foreground element and they're cool looking. Are the some kind of thistle?

Nice .

My thoughts echo Scott's. I love the composition and the unique view of Balanced Rock. Fantastic light, too. It was really great to meet you and JR. Looking forward to seeing you guys again some time!

Lance: The flowers are desert primrose.

Thanks so much for your help on this! I'll definitely work on the distortion issue and see how that goes. I was blind to it before, but now it's all I see :) I like the Rockasaurus idea, John!! This was taken on the path on the backside of Balanced Rock. I had never walked back there before because the crowds always scared me away from the parking lot

Hi Anne - I am not sure how I feel about the rock. It does not look as balanced from this angle, but is still an interesting view! The exposure and processing look very good and I love the flowers! It was great to meet you and I hope to see you again soon.

Anne, the more I look at this, the more I like it. I wouldn't have guessed this was balanced rock and I'm wondering how many other folks would if you hadn't mentioned it. I think you're on to a very creative technique here. Embrace the distortion!

The distortion doesn't bother me at all, it looks like an extremely close perspective and sharp angle and the flower gives my eye a nice entrance point to the image.

Nice to meet you and JR last weekend.

Really striking image, Anne! The white flowers are just gorgeous and beautifully clean looking in that color context. I'm with Jeff on the distortion, really doesn't bother me (it seldom does), though I might be curious to see what a corrected version looks like.

Great Image, the distortion really doesn't bother my much either.

Anne, I too enjoyed meeting you. (You have a crusher of a handshake!) I like the image. The primrose were really nice and I think you placed that one perfectly and the rock next to the flowers is an added attraction. Don't be afraid to post, particularly if your images look as nice as this one.

A bit disorienting at first, but I actually like the distortion. It bears a striking resemblance to the monster in Aliens (backside view).

I like your wide angle composition with the primrose as your foreground element. However, I'd like to see more detail in the white petals. It may just be my monitor settings.

I enjoyed meeting you and JR at the picnic.
I just got back home yesterday. It was a great week to be in Moab. Lots of variety in the weather.

Thanks for all of your comments!! I've been fiddling with the distortion and none of my tweaks look better to me. The top rock is round and flat like a dinner plate and all the distortion tools make it very oblong (more so than my current perspective). I really like hearing all the viewpoints so I have things like the distortion question in my mind and can play with it in processing! Thanks, again, for taking the time to comment and offer your valuable input. See you in the field!