I was photographing a sunrise scene at about 90 degrees from this idea here. When I turned and saw the singular and much isolated Joshua tree on the top of the hillside it immediately brought to mind an almost sentry like form watching over the valley below.
The distant snow covered location had a nice lenticular cloud covering this morning.
Wista DXIII 4x5 - Schneider APO 150mm - Velvia 50
Cropped Sky Version
A very enjoyable image, Paul. It really comes to life at the larger size. It conveys a great sense of open space and is well composed. Good stuff.
Wonderful desert scene Paul. Funny how the joshua trees in the fore/mid ground get kinda lost in the landscape - but that “sentinel” as you described really stands out. And like Harley, the large view is a must see. The distant lenticular and snow covered mountain are a nice addition to the scene.
Minor thought, but for me I might shave a bit off the top.
Lon
Lon, I agree on the top crop. I thought the same but posted in full size here. Easy change there for sure…
Paul, I needed to pull out my magnifying glass to get a good look at the J-tree on the horizon…LOL. The balance works very well with the shrub in the foreground, the J-tree on the horizon and the distant mountain. This conveys a fine sense of space as well as being there enjoying the quiet of first light.
Paul: Agree with the others regarding a top crop. My eye immediately went to the FG bush and then jumps to the skyline tree. A lot of the stuff in between is lost in the small version but is a delight in the larger image. I imagine the original film frame is spectacular. Gotta love Velvia and 4x5! 
>=))>
The subject tree is not so obvious in the small version but really catches the eye in the large version. The large version has much more presence also (puts you right there at the scene). The cropped version does have better balance. Good choice for the challenge!
