The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
Another location that took a bit of return planning on. My brother Tom, who goes with me on my field outings, gets full credit in finding this site. Although he is not a photog he knows what I’m looking for in overall compositions.
We’d been to this area a few times and as I was field glassing a hillside covered with barrel cactus was when he came across this spot near the Contact Mine area of JTNP.
Getting here is a bit of a challenge in beating the sunrise as well as the hiking terrain. It’s almost 1.25 miles of sandy dry wash trudging. To clarify at our age we no longer hike we stagger.
Anyway, the scene almost looks like it had been laid out as a garden but amazingly not the case by any means. Hedgehog in the FG , Barrel in the MG, and Cholla in the BG.
Your hard work to get here really paid off. I immediately wondered where this was, and am amazed this is at JTNP. Not the JTNP scene I’m used to seeing.
I like the different elements laid out in the FG, MG, and BG. The textures in that rocky surface really shows how rough that environment is.
Nice image with lovely color and detail! I do have a couple of items, though. First, I would like to see some separation between the left-hand Barrel Cactus and the Cholla behind it. I know you likely could not get high enough to do that, but thought I’d mention it for the future. Second, I’d like to see a little more detail in the dense shadows on the LRC.
Beyond those two minor items, I think you did a great job on this one. Ya gotta love the detail from MF!
-P
Love this image. It’s very creatively seen and put together. It’s unorthodox in that way, both in color and the way it’s laid out. Things sort appear out of one another. The barrel cactuses are unnaturally too red and I like that about it. I like the liberties you took to make this image.
The barrel and cholla do dominate over the hedgehog. They stand out while the hedgehog blends in. As an experiment I would try to elevate the presence of the hedgehog. But I would not do it by desaturating the other two because that’s your artistic statement in my opinion.
I too love this image! The composition is outstanding and there is interest in every corner and all across the frame.
I echo most of what Igor wrote, and especially this part. Before reading anything, I also was thinking about how you could emphasize, or differentiate the hedgehogs up front. As presented, most everything has equal value - and getting back to saying there is interest all across the frame, that all makes sense. A matter of personal choice of course, but I could see dodging the foregound a little just to anchor the composition, if anything.
No nits or other suggestions. Your efforts paid off big time with this one.
@Mark_Muller@Preston_Birdwell@Igor_Doncov@Lon_Overacker …I sincerely appreciate the interest by each of you on this scene. You each have made some very solid comments as well as points of possible changes.
Preston , I saw the point you made prior to finalizing the processing and will revisit a possible change there.
Igor & Lon, I will also visit the FG Hedgehog cactus for a boost too.
Igor, I did steal one of your neat frames for this as I felt it deserved a bit more of a marquee…
I like this, Paul. In addition to the suggestions from others, I will add an FYI. This is in no way a criticism, just an observation that I see quite a few clone patterns. I’m just pointing it out if you ever wanted to sell or print the image.
And the following is just a personal preference and again, in no way a criticism. I would narrow down the black stroke in your frame to just a few pixels and change the color to gray. I feel that way it more closely resembles a cut mat.
Michael, thank you for the comment and your observations on this image. I’ll take a look see at the original transparency and check out the items mentioned. The matte / frame was just an after thought and I rarely use the idea on Internet posts…
Hi Paul,
What a delightful natural made cacti garden. Kudos to your brother Tom for finding this lovely spot and to you for capturing this image. I particularly like the way everything is laid out with the hedgehog up front , followed by the barrel, then finishing up with the cholla. Everything directs the eye to that one cholla in the middle. My only suggestion would be to lighten the FG hedgehog just a little more. Very nicely done.
Ed, I will tune the Hedgehog cactus up slightly more. I had left a rework with that layer awaiting input on that item especially.
I don’t have time to address your brother Michael’s items at this point but see exactly what he has identified. Heading out the door and don’t have time for a few days…thank you for the additional perspective here, as always…
@Ed_Lowe@Michael_Lowe both of you had the most recent suggestions for change here and I made adjustments to the image with the Hedgehogs and the cloning artifacts. Good eye on seeing those Michael I’m glad you saw those as I missed them entriely. …thanks again for the input.
Hi Paul, a bit late to the party… As others have said the comp. here is great with its three layers of cacti with their varied shapes and hues. This may be an issue with downsizing 4x5 to NPN sizes, but it look crunchy enough that I get a sense of abstraction (that I like) especially in the rocks and and the distant hillside.
Hi Mark, thank you for the review and comment, as always. The crunchy effect or affect is probably my decrepitude aging eyes and lack of ability to sharpen things correctly after scaling down…
