I really like the composition here. To me, this is a wonderful example of finding a small, intimate composition within a much larger landscape. The placement of the lone bush is excellent, and I especially like the visual relationship between it and the golden grasses running up from the lower right. Together with the darker erosion lines, they lead my eye very naturally through what is actually a rather complex scene.
The one thing that distracts me slightly is the distribution of sharpness. The large central ridge appears noticeably softer to me than some of the surrounding areas, and I also notice some softness in the vegetation toward the upper right. I’m curious whether this was intentional, a consequence of the chosen focus/depth of field, or perhaps movement.
I might also experiment with reducing the highlights on the bush just a little. It works beautifully as the visual anchor of the image, but to my eye it is perhaps a touch bright compared with the wonderfully subtle tones throughout the rest of the scene.
Overall, though, I really like this image — especially the eye for finding such a strong composition within all that geological complexity.
I am reading a book on minimalistic photography right now and this image could feature as a strong example. The former comment describes very well how the elements of the composition match and reinforce each other. Resulting in a really nice catch.
I would like to see what was above the tree though, because I get a feeling of an interrupted line at the top edge of the picture. But this does not take anything away from the marvel of the scene.
Hurst and Xavier, Your comments reflect my vision well. Thanks. I intentionally blurred the top of the image thinking that it would keep viewers eyes focused on the main part of the image. I am glad you noticed this. I will have to re-evaluate the blur. Thanks
