The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
I like to go for walks in the desert in the mornings. Actually this may have been a drive. The best way to photograph Baja in my opinion is from one of the many dirt roads that crisscross the peninsula. That’s because you can drive at a snail’s pace while looking for compositions and are free to stop anywhere because there likely won’t be another vehicle coming for hours. I’m always on the lookout for compositions.
I’m not sure whether this is a grand or an intimate so I’ll tag is as neither.
Specific Feedback
I didn’t post this one because I felt the best light had passed by the time I took this image. But today I’m not so sure. I don’t think the light is all that harsh. What do you think?
It looks like you had a bit of cloud cover, Igor, which kept the harshness down. I really like the composition you created with the Agaves in the foreground, the two Cirios pulling the eye rearwards and the Saguaros taking the eye the rest of the way back to the distant peak.
Thank you, Dennis. This was shot 7 years ago. I was going through a phase where I felt that the key to a successful landscape shot in this area is to emphasize the starburst quality of these agaves. So I drove around looking for clusters.
I’d say that the light is neither harsh nor soft but somewhere in between. I do like the soft nature of the clouds and those two cactus poking through the clouds (I believe you’ve shot those type of cactus before a couple years ago maybe). That’s a really nice cluster of agave. very few dead stems and I like the color variety in them. I also like the composition using the dirt to keep the eye focused in the center of the image and through to the background. I just came from Baja a couple of weeks ago and I thought it to be an amazing place with very unique and interesting plants and cactus and an unbeleiveable amount of marine life.
I’d say that this was very successful then. Where in Baja was this?
Glad you had a chance to visit Baja. This is in the Bay of LA area. You take a side road from the paved road that goes to the bay. It’s my favorite area to photograph because it gets just the right amount of fog and rainfall to sustain a nice variety of plants. It’s virtually undeveloped so you don’t have to deal with fences.
Personally I think it’s a great place to have a workshop but with Death Valley so much more accessible it’s unlikely many photographers would go for it. Most tourists bomb right past this area to the beaches further south.
Hi Igor,
This desert landscape has your subtle color processing which I quite like. The scene has some wonderful depth to it with with the different species of succulents starting with the agave in the FG. I also quite like the clouds in the sky. This sounds like a fascinating place to explore and photograph. To answer your question, no I do not think the light is too harsh. My only suggestion; and this just may be an optical illusion; would be a little CW rotation. This is ery nicely done; glad you hung onto it.
You know, I noticed that today after posting it. It does have a sense of leaning to the left. I think that’s because two of the cirios are not straight up and down. I have read and seen that many images benefit from not being perfectly upright. I’m wondering if this benefits from the tension of not being perfectly upright. I’m going to sit on this a bit. It’s easy enough to correct. Actually the background cacti are vertical so a correction would bend them. I just think this was not on a plain where the horizon is horizontal to begin with. Although I’ve always argued that how it was in the natural world is of little consequence.
I love Boojums. I’ve only seen them in Sonora where there is a tiny pocket, but Baja is definitely on my list after retirement.
I agree with your reassessment of the light. You have nice shadows in there. It looks “desert” bright, but not washed out. The composition is very nice; with a nice layering of foreground, background, and lovely sky.
Would it have been even better if different light? Maybe, but I think it is just fine as is.
Really wonderful image Igor. I like the graphic nature of the shot with spherical agave(?) and the tall cacti. Very nice composition with the various elements leading the eye back through the image. I think the light is just fine, the image has a nice tone to it. Great work!
Igor, those Agave make a very eye catchy “opener” to this long desert view. The lighting lets the details show very well. The tall cacti lead well into the distance and connect to the gently inviting sky. While the two tallest cacti are leaning most of the small saguaros look vertical so a rotation would leave the straight stalks leaning…
You’ve really mastered what must have been a high contrast scene with your processing. Nice subdued colors. The only thing that gives the overhead lighting away are the shadows neath the FG plants.
The formal composition and subdued colors make this a quietly inviting desert scene. Immediately recognizable as your work (even without the full border). If light was harsh, your treatment gives it a soft glove. I might be tempted to moderate the white stalk to the right of center and the black shadow in the far distance.
