I was out in Utah for a couple of weeks in May. I finally got to experience the cedar gnats, aka no-see-ums which could make the evenings less fun. All part of the experience I guess.
I found this tree on an evening wander.
D850, 24-70mm
Repost:
Original:
No mistaking the southwestern landscape here, Harley. This poor guy has seen some better seasons. Maybe an old pinon pine maybe?.. 
Harley, Just WOW, For the colors and the tree in a nice composition. The top hold’s all my attention to the tree. The green below gives some sort of direction to it all. I hope I tell this good in my dutch English .
The light cliff stratum forms a wonderful arc that adds a lot to the presentation of the tree. The fact that the sediment below this arc is light while the above is dark also helps to promote the tree. Very nice composition overall. I think you’d be better off without the bush in the very front but that’s really a nit.
Interesting suggestion, Igor. I did a quick and dirty content aware clone and liked it better pre-clone, but it did get me thinking about that spot. I selected it and desaturated it a ways, which gives that less emphasis. I like that better. Nice thought to get me down that road. Thanks
Thanks for your thoughts, @Paul_Breitkreuz and @Ben_van_der_Sande.
Oh, what a story this tree could tell. I wish the tree was darker and stood out more in the scene. Is it possible to darken just the tree and not the background? I tried, but was not successful because of the detailed structure of the branches.
The stark beauty of this shot jumped out at me, Harley. The colors are awesome. Well seen and recorded.
The way you’ve framed the tree is really effective - the striations in the rock start just above it, giving a background that helps it stand out. To Patricia’s point, you could try either masking in Photoshop or trying a color range mask with a graduated filter in Lightroom to darken the tree if you so desire. I’m not sure you could do that and leave the background the way it is though - the contrast might look odd just in the tree. Emotionally this conveys the passage of time and our fleeting presence in this tree’s life.
Wonderful!! I absolutely love the colors – the reddish rock set off by the gray-green vegetation, with the top part of the rock echoing the brown of the tree. I’m pretty sure this is a cottonwood.
Thanks, @Patricia_Brundage , @terryb , @Kris_Smith and @Diane_Miller for the comments and suggestions. I reposted it with the LRC desaturated a bit and the higher values brought down on the tree (where I was able to properly mask it). Much appreciated.
Wow, the repost worked miracles, Harley. Beautiful shot. The color of the greenery looks a bit strange to me, but I’m comparing it to Florida swamp greenery, so I really don’t have a glue if my statement is accurate at all. Perhaps that’s exactly what the greenery out west looks like. I love the cliffs and all the rocks, etc. Igor made a great point with the arch effect of the brighter band of rocks at the top. Love this!
This image definitely tells the story of the difficulty of survival in the harsh desert climate. The repost is definitely an improvement as it helps the tree stand out a lot more from the background. Nicely done!
I’m with @Igor_Doncov about the the “arc” of color in the cliff. For me this is one of those relatively rare images where the background almost carries the image by itself. It’s not only the arc above the tree, but I also love the curved line that sweeps down along the right edge, bringing you to the tree. The rework with the lower saturation in the LRC is a subtle but nice improvement. Well done Harley.
