Cholla Arbor

I was moving through this desert wash, looking for the coyotes I had seen briefly moving down the wash, so had settings set for action shooting. I finally gave up looking for the coyotes and started looking for other images when I saw this scene and was intrigued. I forgot to reset the camera settings, until I had moved much farther down the wash.

Type of Critique Requested

  • Aesthetic: Feedback on the overall visual appeal of the image, including its color, lighting, cropping, and composition.
  • Conceptual: Feedback on the message and story conveyed by the image.
  • Emotional: Feedback on the emotional impact and artistic value of the image.
  • Technical: Feedback on the technical aspects of the image, such as exposure, color, focus and reproduction of colors and details, post-processing, and print quality.

Specific Feedback and Self-Critique

Spines in the foreground are in sharpest focus, probably better if on the subject of the Hedgehog cacti. I may try to go back and redo this with different settings (I think I can find it again), more closed aperture, lower ISO, etc. Other suggestions, feedback?

Technical Details

Nikon D850, Nikon 70-200 f/4, ISO 3200, 200 mm, f/11, 1/2000 sec.
I set the camera as low as possible to get this perspective and was using the live view, not the viewfinder, which I am still learning how to use.

I love the framing. I agree a bit more depth of field would be nice, but it sounds like you can go back to make it prefect. Great image.