Any.
Any.
(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)
Blended from two images in Photoshop. I processed the images from RAW before blending.
A wonderful image Chris, it has a very strong composition, and I love the way you processed the backlit landscape here. The saturation of yellow in the sky is a matter of personal taste, but I think while it is strong here. it is still within the bounds of being realistic. I also love that patch of blue sky in the URC, it’s a nice counterpoint. Your processing of extreme dynamic range is very well handled here, both sky and land look good. No halos at the horizon, so your blend worked well.
My main nit here is the out of focus vegetation along the bottom frame edge, it’s a minor distraction. I would consider burning it down to draw less attention to it, perhaps combined with a very slight crop of a sliver away from the bottom. A minor nit would be to clone away that curved twig in the LLC, it pulls my eye away from the flowers a bit.
Chris,
Beautiful near/far image and composition. The sunset light and sky are gorgeous, although I suppose one could tone down the yellow/orange. But as Ed says, it’s all about personal choice and preferences.
The backlit desert flowers are lovely. I’m also liking the tall grasses and desert ground cover filling up the midground, allowing the eye to move from front to back and keep interested.
I’m not bothered by the softness at the bottom edge. No other nits or suggestions from me. Beautifully captured and presented.
Lon
This straightforward composition came out really nice. You handled the shade beautifully. Being a desert lover this does evoke emotions of content that come with a sundown. Love those delicate flowers. I’ve never seen them in Baja.
Lovely shot, Chris. Minor recommendation, and really a matter of personal preference, would be to darken the foreground just a tad as it moves away from the viewer. Perhaps a gradient that fades towards the bottom, and removed from the sky so only the landscape itself is impacted. I also think I agree with Ed in regards to the out of focus vegetation; while I’m fine with having some depth of field in my landscapes I think darkening it just a bit will help keep the eye from noticing it as much.
I also agree Ed’s observation re: the curved twig, although it may just jump out at me more because he pointed it out first. 
Thanks, all for your thoughtful comments. I was sort of surprised get as far as I did considering the noise; nobody mentioned that.
I’ll try some dodging…I often use a bit of vignetting…and some cropping, but I don’t want to get the flowers too close to the edge.
Chris
Even zoomed in I can’t see much noise, and only in the darker mountainside (and I mean just there). But I also think us photographers get too hung up on noise - to an extent - especially when our work is likely to be viewed on a tiny phone screen, or printed… which smooths out much of it. Heck, I actually add a touch of grain to many of my images!
Michael,
Thanks for your comment. I too like to add grain, particularly if I’m working on a b/w image!
Chris
