This was a sunrise photographed with a large collection of cholla cactus in the foreground. This area is primarily populated with the jumping challa cacti.
Mamiya RB67 ProSD - Mamiya 65mm “C” lens - Hi-tec reverse grad - Velvia 50
REPOST: after a very good friends memorial service yesterday I took some time this morning and reworked the sky a bit on this one. I think it works better. Overall the Hi-Tech reverse grads are not on the level color wise of my other regular Singh Ray grads.
I am liking the cholla and the great detail. On my screen and to my eye, the colors in the sky are looking off. They look really saturated and areas seem to have a greenish cast.
Paul,
Do I recall seeing this before? I think I do. and if so, I’m certainly glad to view this again. The glow on the cholla is wonderful. And kudos for taking advantage of the light and including what looks like an eventual bright and toasty day in the desert. Classic back-lit set, great capture.
Lon
Beautiful, Paul. The spines are ideal for back lit situations and you took full advantage of it. The foreground Cholla was very well chosen.
Paul, those Cholla really jump out in this view. (Sorry, couldn’t resist…
) They make a great backlit subject as the spines glow so well. While this looks like a lovely morning, it does look like the day will heat up quickly. This tells a good story.
@Harley_Goldman @Lon_Overacker @Dennis_Plank @Mark_Seaver…hey guys, thanks so much for the comments on this “very sharp” scene…
Harley, I’ll need to review the sky a bit more here. Not seeing the greenish yet, but that might be a nuclear waste cloud drifting up from the Salton Sea 40 miles away in direct line toward the sunrise here…
Lon, I’m sure I posted this back at the NPN-1 at some point in time. I do recall being stuck by one of the zillion drifting cholla balls back then. These needles do not pull out easily, they actually have a barb on the end…
Paul, the composition is really nice, and I love the cactus. It has nice detail and color. I agree with Harley about the saturation in the sky, especially the blue up top. There does appear to be a bit of green in the color band between the blue and the pink; it’s subtle, but visible.
I seem to recall seeing this image on NPN1.0, but it’s nice to see it again. It works very nicely.
–P
Oh, a great choice for this challenge, cholla cactus. Why didn’t I think of it?
