These are a couple of leftover shots from my big road trip out west last fall. I'm not sure how I feel about them, so please gimmie some honest feedback. Do you like 'em or not?
#1 Hidden Autumn Oasis
(For some reason, my image host sapped some of the saturation from this shot. Click here to see the normally saturated version on my site.)
Would you believe that this was taken in a barren, desolate, desert region of western Texas less than 50 miles from Mexico? It's true. Guadalupe Mountains National Park is a lesser known, but very special National Park. The mountains of the park are the highest in Texas. Melting snow from these mountains creates and nourishes little hidden oases deep in the valleys of the park. There you will find pockets of deciduous trees -- extremely rare in this part of the country. Every autumn, these forests put on vibrant displays drawing visitors from all around.
Rattlesnakes, cacti, yucca plants, sand and... maple trees. Who'd have thought?
28mm, f/16, 1 second, ISO 100
#2 Teddy Bear Sunset
Taken in a Teddy Bear Cholla cactus garden near Joshua Tree NP. Despite being extremely careful, I still got stuck by one of these little buggers. OUCH! It hurts more than you'd think. I almost entitled this image "Teddy Bear Nightmare".
#1 is definately a wierd shot, who would have thought? I think those foreground rocks need to be pulled back on their brightness a bit more. They come across as being blown out here. Are they a white rock?
#2 is really cool, love the lighting in it. And yeah, those are some mean Teddy Bears! You really have to keep an eye on them.
I like both shots. Here are a few thoughts on each:
#1: I like to color and the contrast between the grey rocks and the colorful leaves. However, the subject seems uncertain to me. My eyes can't decide to focus more on the rocks or the trees. It almost feels as though there are two great subjects for this shot but you only captured half of each. I don't know the location so I am unsure if a different composition would have been possible.
#2: I really like the feeling of great depth to this shot. As far as color though it feels a bit 'flat'. I realize this is largely due to the lighting and subject cacti but I wonder what it would look like with a bit more color saturation/vibrancy?
The colors in those trees contrasted with the desert in the 1st one are really neat. I'd actually liked to have seen some more of them and less of the rocks I think! I do agree with Jim the rocks could be a darker. Looks like that area's got a lot of underused potential!
Just so you know, I've got a shot with the same title as #2.. so you might wanna change to nightmare, I think it does fit yours rather well
Thanks for all the feedback so far -- it's exactly what I wanted.
JimFox wrote:
I think those foreground rocks need to be pulled back on their brightness a bit more. They come across as being blown out here. Are they a white rock?
Yeah, I figured someone would say that. The thing is, the rocks ARE white. I already pulled the brightness on them back somewhat. Looks like I might have to do it a bit more.
plubbry wrote:
#1: I like to color and the contrast between the grey rocks and the colorful leaves. However, the subject seems uncertain to me. My eyes can't decide to focus more on the rocks or the trees. It almost feels as though there are two great subjects for this shot but you only captured half of each. I don't know the location so I am unsure if a different composition would have been possible.
#2: I really like the feeling of great depth to this shot. As far as color though it feels a bit 'flat'. I realize this is largely due to the lighting and subject cacti but I wonder what it would look like with a bit more color saturation/vibrancy?...Show more →
You are very perceptive -- I had the same thoughs on both images.
#1 I totally had the same feeling, which is why I'm unsure about this one. The compo here was limited. If I moved the camera up anymore, I'd have gotten sky in it which would've ruined the shot, IMO. Perhaps this is just one of those "almost" images that just can't be saved.
#2 The colors were subdued by my stupid hosting service. The colors on the actual image are more saturated.
floris wrote:
The colors in those trees contrasted with the desert in the 1st one are really neat. I'd actually liked to have seen some more of them and less of the rocks I think! I do agree with Jim the rocks could be a darker. Looks like that area's got a lot of underused potential!
Just so you know, I've got a shot with the same title as #2.. so you might wanna change to nightmare, I think it does fit yours rather well
Nice stuff, Kory. Love the soft light and pastels in the 2nd, and I agree about them being pretty mean if you let them bite you!
I like Floris's crop idea for the first, and also like the color contrasts in the image.
Good work.
Nice set. I do have to agree with Floris about cropping out the bottom 1/4 of the first one. That shot is nice one when I do that with my browser window.
Teddy bear cholla were the bane of my existence as a child growing up in Phoenix so that second shot makes me cringe. If you put the spines of that critter under a 25x microscope you will find the there are very sharp tiny hooks at the ends instead of simply a point so when you brush up against one it hooks you and then the brittle spine causes it to almost whip up into your skin. It's nickname is jumping cactus because it almost seems to jump at you once one of the spines gets into your skin.
All that aside they do make a nice photo image when backlit just right as long as you can capture the shot from a distance.
I like looking at your photo of them - I don't have to get close to appreciate the display
Ok, here it is cropped and with the saturation upped back to where it was supposed to be. I definitely think it's stronger now. What do you guys think?
Oh yeah - I'd love to see this one in a much larger format. The colors in this one are quite nice and it looks like the details are there to handle a bigger size.
Nice edit.
Alan
Jul 11, 2009 at 05:31 PM
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