This image was not very much liked by the Baja viewers. Perhaps it’s because it’s nothing. But I like it because I was there and the moment was special. I’m interested how well that translated into the image. Generally people like images for the subject they contain and there is nothing spectacular here.
Please give me your honest opinion. You know - the good, the bad, and the ugly, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1PfrmCGFnk
GFX50R, 32-64mm
I quite like this, Igor. It’s a quiet, peaceful, understated image. I like the lower light and the shadows on the foreground rocks. It may not have the dramatic, wow, moment, but it actually seems like a great candidate for a large print.
For me, Igor, this image wants to be part of series. On its own, it is all the things a well crafted image needs to be and it is easy to look at. But I don’t find it particularly stirring. I feel like it tells an important part of a story about this landscape and might, therefore, want to be included within the context of, say, a monograph on open spaces, the Baja or desert. I have to say that for me, more and more, I feel that the most profound expression of photography is to be found in collections of images - books, monographs etc.
Thanks Kerry. I never thought of that and I’ve never done anything as a series before. I’ll give it some thought.
More and more, I am enjoying the more understated grand landscape scenes like this that are not screaming at the viewer. It is more artistic to me to show less and not more. This is very subtle. You have beautiful light casting long shadows and soft and subdued, complimentary colors with oranges and blues. The foreground rocks are desperately needed for this image to work but I also like that there are only a handful of rocks and that they appear to be trapped forever in this mud playa. The sky is beautiful with just a whisper of clouds spread evenly across the scene in a believable soft blue tone. I’m generally not drawn to 50/50 images but this is more of 55/45 land to sky which works well for this scene. I agree with @David_Bostock that this would look great printed large.
Oh, and by the way, I really like your second image that is even more understated.
Well, that’s the thing. If I were to look at this I might say to myself “this is an image of a beginner”. In fact I still waffle between the two. Sometimes it looks like a beginners snapshot and sometimes it doesn’t. The composition is awkward yet I cropped it that way. The composition is really simple. The statement is also simple. So, why do I find it meaningful? I don’t know why. I guess the desert is simple and tidy and uncluttered. And I like that aspect of it. Plus the light was to die for. About 10 minutes of it.
I’m with Kerry, that this would be good as part of a series. It is beautiful, and that light is gorgeous. While the composition is simple, it does not strike me as “beginner’s snapshot”. I think a beginner wouldn’t even have thought to snap such a scene.
You know, I feel exactly and I mean exactly the same way about the image I most recently posted - the one with the top of the forest and the “glow” in the sky above. Simply stated or just simple (i.e., boring)? When I looked at your image that was the first thing that went through my mind - why can’t simple elegance be enough? Again, I think sometimes an image like this needs more context - a group of images that together tell a more complex story.
I am not finding it all that compelling. Nice light, colors and layers, but it does not hit me with much impact or hold my interest. I find the lower half cropped more compelling, bringing the rocks and shadows into the star of the show category. Between the two presented, I prefer the second one, as the road/path is more prominent and draws me in, wondering where it goes out in the desert and mountains.
I noticed the similarity between the two images when I posted mine. Oh well, it’s not for everyone I guess. There’s the age old issue - Do I like it for what I saw and felt or what I created?
That’s funny. I ran across that plain doing my level best to avoid having it in the picture. Even the horizon is tilted.
This image has really nice light, but I find it very hard to engage with it emotionally. It’s nice light in search of a stronger subject and/or story. As others have noted, it might help contribute to a story as part of a series or collection. The light alone is not enough to make this image very compelling for me. The simplicity avoids creating potential issues, but for me it also doesn’t add enough to create any strong engagement with me. For what it is, it works, but it probably has more value to you for the memories it evokes, than it does to some other viewers. Or more value in a collection.
