This is from a walk in Saguaro National Park. I believe what you are seeing in the lower half of the image are the “bones” of a dead saguaro cactus.
I intentionally composed this to have the dead cactus reaching up towards the moon. I like the rather minimalist nature of it, with the only other element being some atmosphere with the light clouds. Any thoughts?
Very nice seeing and presentation! I wonder about bringing out a bit more structural detail or local contrast in the clouds and moon? But that’s just my take – I’ve never been accused of being too subtle… (I think I didn’t get quite the contrast on the moon I was trying for, though.)
This composition did well, Dean. I agree with Diane with most contrast in the sky. I look for this kind of photo while in the park all the time. I found the time of day helps with the overall contrast when the sun is still low in the sky. I wasn’t sure what time this was taken.]
Good eye! I’m a big fan of “reaching into the heavens” like this. I agree this may benefit from more contrast, Keep on seeing.
I, too, like the minimalist nature of this. The long/tall format really works well. I do like Diane’s increased contrast adjustment, but that is a matter of taste.
Thank you, @Diane_Miller, @Dean_Salman, @JohnSnell, and @Bonnie_Lampley. I will play around with contrast adjustment. This was taken in the afternoon before golden hour so that light was still pretty strong/white.
I like this one a lot Dean, nice work.
As far as the edit goes, I would maybe try punching up the contrast in the mid-tones but otherwise it all feels great… and my suggestion may make it worse too, hard to say! =) The comp is super cool.
Thank you, @Matt_Payne. I experimented with more contrast but came back to what I originally did. I think I like the airy/gentle feel of it.
