The blue palm is a native of baja that is present only there. As such it’s held in high esteem by the locals. This was shot in the same general area that Harley enjoyed so much. In fact the center boulder may be the same as the previous boulder but viewed from the side.
Blue palms prefer the bottom of sandy arroyos where the water collects but this one grew on a rise, probably due to the moisture collected beneath the rocks.
I’ve thought of cropping this from the left a bit but prefer this wider format.
D810, Tamron 24-70@42mm, iso 64, f/16, 1/13 sec
You may only download this image to demonstrate post-processing techniques.
I like this Igor, it tells a nice story about the Baja environment. In your recent post “More or Less than a Rock” you got comments about having more space at the bottom. I think the foreground works very well here, especially with the inclusion of the Blue Palm. This foreground adds scale, and does a good job of channeling the viewers eye. I would not crop from the left, I think it’s well balanced as presented, and I like seeing all of the textures and colors in the rock on the left. When this first came up, I was initially bothered by the cacti sticking up behind the rocks on the right, but eventually decided cloning them away would leave too much negative space. The only one I might clone away is the one closest to the center rock, it is too close for my taste.
Igor,
You have a great knack for seeing and creating thoughtful compositions, especially with the desert landscape. I like this quite a lot. The showcasing of the Blue Palm is excellent - as is including the “rocks” including the ones at the bottom nicely framing the scene.
No to the question of any further crop. Like this as presented. A crop would throw things out of balanced, especially as it relates to the palm plant.
I like the tall plant, saguaro seemingly growing out of nowhere. Wouldn’t change any of that. If anything, you might clone out the very small brush on the right edge between the saguaro and the edge of the frame. that’s pretty minor and picky though. Just can’t help the border check… 
Lon
Igor, a very fine desert scene here. The immediate draw for me is that unique looking palm and probably for many of us southwestern dwellers too. I’m use to seeing A LOT of different palms living all these years among many types, but this is a new one to me. I was unaware of this particular tree. I’m curious as to how tall they might get if you happen to know.
Needless to say most of the ones surrounding our area seem unlimited in height only restricted by the environmental conditions around them.
I played around with a few crop ideas and only found a slight crop on the right of the one tall cacti made a bit of bringing my attention more toward the palm. But as always, just subjective thoughts there and is an easy change for another look.
These blue palms are endemic to baja and don’t extend to California. Actually, I may have seen a picture of one at Anza Borrego one time. They’re not that common in Baja either. There are 2 places around Catavina where the highway crosses an arroyo and you can see them. Catavina is like your beloved Joshua Tree in many ways. There are fields of granite boulders and there is likely granite below which keeps the sand from absorbing the water quickly. These palms grow in arroyos lined with granite cliffs. And they don’t extend into southern Baja. Google map shows entire narrow canyons full of these palms but they can only be reached by mulepacks. The terrain is too rough for even motorcycles. Anyway, to answer your question, they seem to grow endlessly. From what I’ve seen though, they won’t grow above the rim of a canyon. This one’s a baby.
I probably shouldn’t critique my own image this early but I’m going to. Basically, I’m not that happy with this image. When I shot it I thought it would be the best of the session. In fact, I thought it was a real find where everything came together. But as time went by I like this less and less and like the Rock more and more. This just seems to say nothing beyond it’s appearance. I think this might be a nice image for National Geographic on the area but has little artistic merit. In fact, I feel it’s the weakest Baja image I’ve shown this year. But who knows, these things wax and wane. You like them more one day and less another. It was a big hit on social media but I think that’s because it excited people to go there. I hope my comments don’t influence other commentators. I am willing to change my mind. Lol.
This is beautifully framed with the intersecting boulders drawing the eye to the blue palm and that tall cacti in the background. To be honest I think the light is less compelling. While this is a fine image, it would be much stronger IMO if the light was more interesting.
Dave, less compelling than what?
@Igor_Doncov The light seems a little flat for my taste and I think warmer directional lighting would enhance the image.
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Very much like the soft light and soft colors here. Strong comp too. I think your current crop looks fine.
I like your comp a lot. The light is very complimentary here.
