Arizona Desert

Image Critiques Landscape Critiques
1

Living in southern AZ there is a lot of desert. I would like to improve my landscape photos so looking for ideas to make a photo stand out more. This photo I liked because of the location of the 2 Saguaro Cactus with the cactus in front. So looking for ideas on what left to do with this photo.
Canon 6D ii 24-70 F/2.8 lens. The Saguaro arms were a little too bright so I toned those back some and darken the path on the middle left a bit.

20200202-Sabino-Canyon-6559-Edit
20200202-Sabino-Canyon-6559-Edit1500×1000 425 KB

2

The composition looks pretty solid to me with how you arranged the subjects in the frame. There is a lot of sky but that’s inevitable if you want to include the entire cactus. There isn’t much color in the desert itself which seems to be emphasized by the blue sky. This is due to the time of day that this was shot. I live in Baja California for half of the year and shoot the desert a lot. The desert comes alive at the end of the day. Bland land forms acquire rich vibrant colors during that short period of time. I would reshoot this same composition later in the day and then if necessary make further color adjustments.

1 Like
3

I would echo @Igor_Doncov 's thoughts, especially on the time of day to reshoot this.

4

Hi Dean, I agree with Harley and Igor - nicely framed but the light is a bit harsh. Worth going back at sunrise/sunset with some warmer light.

5

Hi Dean, comp is fine, yes, going back for warmer light is the ticket.

6

Thanks all, glad the composition is good. I can easily go back before sunrise and wait for that lighting to be better.

7

First thing I thought, too, was time of day. I can imagine that many things will be nicely glowing in this scene, and the sky might add another interest if some clouds cooperate.
Nice spot!

8

Dean,

I think you did very well with the composition; it’s nicely balanced. I like the placement of the dueling saguaros as well as the nicely placed barrel cactus. The prickly are balanced nicely with the whispy cloud in the sky - it all just fits together nicely.

Great job with the exposure and processing - a very natural rendition. No nits or suggestions really - other than to echo time of day comments - but we aren’t always in good locations at the best times, and we make the best - and you’ve certainly done that.

Lon