Superstition Storm

This amazing, one of the best desert scenes I've seen. That light is fantastic and the green grass is just icing on the cake. The cut off cholla doesn't really bother me, might not have noticed if you hadn't mentioned it.

Wow that sure is some light. Nice exposure work to keep it all in check. Excellent sharpness throughout. The cut off cholla isn't anything to worry about in my book. The exposed dirt in the bottom left hand corner would be my only nit, but it's pretty minor. Very cool.

Wow, that really is some great light, those cholla are really glowing! Better get to Lost Dutchman before they close it down.

Wow, this is some sweet light! Maybe the cholla on the right is a nit, but there are so many nice and appealing elements in the scene that overpower this tiny flaw.

Beautiful light and a really great FG, Joel. Killer sky, too. Looks like the flowers are still waiting to crop up.

Wonderful Joel! The light adds so much depth here, I love it. The cut off cholla is a little bothersome, and the way the two on the left blend into each other is as well, but those are minor nits. The grassy carpet and the cholla bits scattered on the ground make up for it.

Very very nice Joe

strong and dramatic light here! super.
no, the jolla is not hurting it.
verena

Great capture Joel, killer light and great comp. Nice work.

Beautiful light and color. The cholla on the right going off frame is just a little bothersome, but as already said just a small thing. This is really pretty and I like it alot, Joel. Good thing you made the hike because it sure was worth it.

Great desert drama! Light and colors look beautiful. Very well done, Joel.

Perfect lighting Joel!
I like the "Deadly Donut Holes" too!

Wow. amazing light. This scene is awesome. love the comp with its foreground and the red glowing rocks in the background. Exposure is just right.

Nice one, Joel. Both the foreground and the background are visually exciting. The cholla touching the frame really is a little issue, but not too disturbing. The colors might be nice for printing but feel a little heavy on the screen (reminds me of calibrating my screens later).

Beautiful shot, Joel. Yes, the afternoon light has been wonderful around here lately. I've got to get out to the Superstitions one day.

Why not try cloning out a bit of the cholla that touchs the edge of the frame?

Mark Capurso
Phoenix, AZ

Thanks all!

Steve- Haha, I've never heard "Deadly Donut Holes." I like it.

Mark- I messed around with cloning that cholla for a while... It would be difficult to make it look natural so I figured I'd just keep it as is.

Andreas- I will probably see what you mean when I look at this on a different monitor. My laptop monitor tends to give colors and contrast a little less punch than most.

Perfect timing with the light illuminating the cholla and background, and patches of green grass in the foreground. This might have been improved with more of the cholla on the right, but I don't think that hurts at all here. The light doesn't get much better than this.

Beautiful subject(s) in awesome light. Regarding the cut off cholla, my take is that rarely is anything perfect. In setting up this image you probably had to make compromises. Don't cut off the cholla, maybe something else pops in or the mountains are to centered or something else shows up in the viewfinder that is more objectionable. This is an outstanding image and the cut of cholla doesn't bother me in the least. My 2 cents.
Larry Reitz

This is incredible lighting! I agree with you about the composition...I noticed the right side immediately. All in all, a fantastic image!

Lasts night's light was pretty amazing in Tucson too. Glad you got an image out of the conditions!

This is pretty sweet, Joel. I'm not sure I would have noticed the cut off cholla on the right if you hadn't mentioned it. It's a very strong shot which I think overpowers this minor compositional flaw.

Fantastic light here and the composition is great. I think the cholla on the right is a very minor nit. What sets this apart though is the green grass which seems so out of place in the desert.

This is perfect, Joel, despite your misgivings. It's all about the light, which is totally awesome.

Fabulous light. Love the exposure - especially the way both the cholla and the saguaro share the tones with the background rock features, while the foreground grass is subdued and retiring but still clear - that's a nice balance. The dirt and the not-quite-captured cholla on the right are, as others have said, minor annoyances. The only thing that seems a little less than perfect to me is the strong “almost-symmetry.” There are three light parts in the background rocks, and three chollas in the foreground, but they neither echo each other nor make lead-in lines. Were you to have the opportunity to reshoot (not likely given the special light), I might try backing up and using a longer lens to pull the foreground together just a bit and see if you can get a slightly different set of lead-in lines, or possibly step to the right and get one lead-in line from foreground-left to background-right. But those are simply variants on the composition of a great picture, not criticism. It's a fantastic shot and makes me want to be there!

Oustanding work and would have been perfect if you hadn't cut off the cholla.

Wow, this is a nice one. The colors are great and I really like the side light illuminating everything in the scene. Well done.

Amazing light here, the cholla is a bit distracting but not bad, great capture.

Great warm light. Well composed

Nice one Joel! This one works very well. It's hard to get a shot of these beautiful mountains without "man" in it these days; good job.

Nice! I like the warmth that the last light of the day on the cliffs and cholla.

There's a real depth to this photo, generated by the warm light on the cholla's standing out from the shaded vegetation.I'm not worried about the cholla on the right, likewise with Jeremy I probably wouldn't have noticed it had you not mentioned it. Great photo Joel!

Very nice light and balanced composition. I don't mind the cholla on the right touching the edge of the frame because there's plenty of other interesting elements going on. I think a slight reduction of the magenta color cast would enhance that nice carpet of green grasses in the fg. Not sure if it was possible, but a slightly higher camera placement might have enhanced the near/ far effect of this beautiful image. Very minor observations to a very well crafted image. Good stuff!

This is stunning. Beautiful work.

~ja

I like the geometric feel of this composition and the lighting doesn't hurt either.

Congrats on a beautiful EP!
Sandy r

yes, exquisite light. very nice indeed.

Wow, Joel, this is gorgeous. Isn't it exciting when a plan comes together just as hoped? I love the light on the cholla in the fg. While I wish the saguaro didn't blend in so well, it's a little hard sometimes when tones are so similar. The sky is crazy; it's violet! Really sweet in the context of the image. Congrats on the EP.

I missed this while i was away--glad it got the EP cuase this is a joy to see!

Sweet! Thanks for the EP and the congrats!

Wonderful composition, and the lighting is absolutely stunning. I don't find the cholla on the right distracting at all. My eye is drawn to the beautiful lighting on the mountains, and cholla in the foreground.

Laura Stafford