Interesting place....as often as I've visited Tucson, I somehow managed to miss this spot.
I like the picture, but I think the sky needs more "punch". I don't know if the sky ever got more colorful while you were waiting to take this one or if it needs a bit more processing.
Kathryn, Beautiful subject. Pretty darn good lighting to work with too. Try using levels or curves to add a bit of contrast/drama (darken). Could be a monitor calibration thing too. Most important, I would look a bit closer at the composition. To my eye, the comp is off, but in the details. Bottom right, a few distracting rocks. The reflection of the bigger tree above those rocks appears cutt-off by the distracting rocks. Lastly, overcome a lot of potential NPN "opportunity" feedback by presenting clean and crisp jpegs at the minimal NPN requirements. This image appears a bit flat, but certainly something that can be overcome. If interested, I can help you with that. Just email me.
Posted by Doug Koepsel on March 4, 2014 at 10:44 AM
Kathryn, I have not seen this location in Tucson before. My thoughts echo those of Kane about the sky and rocks. I do not know if you needed f/18, as 5.6 or 8 would have given enough sharpness for the line of palm trees and a little faster shutter speed in case their ends were moving in any light breeze. The red in the sky coming over and through the palms is nice.
All the times I've been to Tucson and I never knew about this place, either. Beautiful image, Kathryn. I disagree with the others on the sky. I like the soft, pastel colors. A 4x5 crop from the right would lose those rocks and cut out the cottonwood tree, putting more focus on those lovely palms. Great image overall, though!
Great advice all and thanks! Cropping is not a problem and I can add a bit more boost with levels and curves. Part of problem is I'm using my travel ultrabook computer so monitor is not the best. Tucson has beautiful sunsets so I hope to get some more here soon.
Discussion
5 repliesNikon D700, 1/8 sec at f/18, 28mm, ISO 800
I like the picture, but I think the sky needs more "punch". I don't know if the sky ever got more colorful while you were waiting to take this one or if it needs a bit more processing.