This is a place my friends Steffen and Isa Synnatchke took me last weekend. They know the Southwest far better than I do and it’s always fun to go with them and see what I’ve missed so far. I’m not sure I could find this place again, though the canyon seems to have plenty of traffic and gun enthusiasts from the amount of gunfire we heard while shooting.
What technical feedback would you like if any?
I tried to give the cactus more light to stand out against the darker wall but not to overdo it and make it look unreal. Though I’ve probably pushed the contrast and color to the point where it might not matter. I’m trying to create a sense of dramatic light to some degree, without having a sky and when the actual light was a bit softer.
You may only download this image to demonstrate post-processing techniques.
I like this a lot. The arch stands out well against the sunny cliff, and the saguaro gives it scale, place, etc.
My only suggestion is to crop off about a 1/3rd of the top layer. I think that will pull the eye down toward the foreground saguaro and balance the composition better given the brightness at the top.
ML
This is a great photo! I especially like the three different “layers” (the gold rock, the brown rock, the green) superimposed over each other receding from front to back, which draws the eye in. And the interplay of their colors is a delight. I don’t find the cacti too bright; if anything, I would play with giving them more light. My only nit is that the gold is so bright that it draws too much attention from the rest of the photo. IMO a crop of some of it would create a less pleasing aspect ratio, making the cacti look too squat. If it could be darkened without making it muddy, that might be worth a try. Those suggestions might make the photo look more “unreal”, but to that I give you the words of Picasso. Someone was looking at one of his works entitled “The Fish”, and said to him “This doesn’t look like a fish”. Picasso answered “It’s not a fish, it’s a painting”.
Real nice, Tony. I am enjoying the golden background as is. I would back off the saturation on the saguros just a bit (no surprise on that one from me), but otherwise, everything has a nice natural but dramatic look.
This is wonderful! I miss the areas and canyons around Tucson. I used to go at least once a year when my parents were around and living in Tuscon.
First, what a terrific little grove of Saguaro! Like most forest situations, it’s so very difficult to find compelling compositions with these proud plants. And to be able to combine with the late evening glow in the background… well, the Sonoran Desert doesn’t get any better than this. Oh, didn’t even mention the arch!
Great physical layers, as well as layers of color; the transition from cool to warm is wonderful too.
Great composition for sure on this beauty! On my monitor, the brightness of the layers balance out fairly well. I suspect you might have had a challenge in that regard. However, for me the bright sun on the rocks is realistic as well as the brightness in the shadows. It’s always “artistic” interpretation on this types of images, particularly on how much brightness to use in the shadows. The only suggestion for the shadows may be to introduce a small amount of blue tones to increase the warm vs cool aspect.
Cheers!
Really beautiful, Tony. I love how you have used the sunlit cliff as a “sky substitute” to create the drama in this image. In my opinion using the cliff like this is actually better than having the arch set against a dramatic sky, what an unique perspective this creates. The contrast in this image is so extreme, yet you have wrung every last drop of dynamic range out of this scene while keeping it very natural looking. Don’t crop the top of the image as some have suggested, the sunlit cacti on the cliff are one of the little subtle touches that I find very appealing.
I agree completely with Marylynne about the top crop. The simplification would emphasize the beautiful cacti—great color—even more, ie less is more here.
The composition is very clever … I and enjoying the tension between the sunlit background and the foreground which is in shadow. Your handling of the light on the cactus really makes them stand out, which definitely helps separating them from the dark rock wall.
