Teetering Rock Buster

Critique Style Requested: Standard

The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.

Description

Although I really liked my Geology college class it’s too far in my rear view mirror now to recall much of the specifics beyond enjoying the oddities I find in the field.
This was just one of the many formations to explore off the Geology Tour 4X4 Road in Joshua Tree N.P.

Specific Feedback

ANY

Technical Details

Mamiya RB67 ProSD - Mamiya “C” 65mm lens - 2 Stop Soft ND - Ektachrome E-100
3 image pano.


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1 Like

Paul, my first impression is certainly WOW! The light is amazing with beautiful color contrast, the subject is captivating, and you composed it all to perfection. Nice!

1 Like

Hi Paul,
I always enjoy your images from JTNP and this one is no exception. You always have a nice mix of warm and cool tones that make the scene very inviting and the pano format is perfect for this desert landscape. Beautifully done; no suggestions from me.

2 Likes

Paul, it’s a very appealing composition and you picked the right moment to take the shot. Well done.

1 Like

Love the all caps! :grinning:

It’s a beautiful dawn scene. That’s such a special time of day, my favorite. When I was a sophomore in high school I worked for a company that did sheet rock, and we were working on a project away from town and just camped at the worksite. One of the construction workers was an old cowboy, and right at the moment the sun started to paint the earth, like in your photo, he would shout at the top of his lungs “SUNS UUUUP!” Good times.

My only thought would be to play with slightly backing off the saturation of the reds. It’s likely reality given that early light, but it looks so differenct than the rest of the rock.

2 Likes

Beautiful composition and color rendition, Paul. Takes me way back to my film days. Well done.

1 Like

@Jim_Erhardt @Ed_Lowe @Don_Peters @John_Williams @steven8
I sincerely appreciate the kind comments on this rock formation image.
As long time retirees now my brother Tom and I try to travel out to J-tree once a week. Typically on Fridays as his consulting service remains ongoing years after his full retirement.
I’ve mapped out most all of my many photographic sites over the years in JTNP using Google Earth Pro, Base Camp and a Garmin 22x unit. Also and always I use the TPE program. Over the last 2 years I’ve been using the 3-D version for sunrise points and the angles over all. It’s a BIG aid for slopes, hills, valleys…etc.

Jim…thank you as always.
Ed…in contrast, you and your brother Michael share a complete opposite view for me to the J-tree desert.
Don…yes, The Photographers Ephermeris for the time and place as needed.
John…“SUNS UUUUP!” …very cool and good times for sure.
Steven…me being a a real dinosaur I’ve never left the film world.

Well seen and captured. There is a sense of a family portrait in this image. I really like the composition. The colors look fine to me.

1 Like

Wild juxtaposition of sunlit and shady rocks! I love the larger yucca with just a brush of light on it. I wonder about making the neutrals a little more blue. Could probably be done in Selective Color without much change to the sunlit rocks and sky. Maybe just the ones against the lighted rocks? But maybe that’s getting too far from reality.

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Paul, as usual, you’ve done a great job of capturing first light here on a very interesting scene. That split boulder sure does leave me wondering how/why, with that interest creating a good balance with the sunlit rocks.

1 Like