High Desert Gardens

By Mono Lake standards, this is utterly lush. It's nice to see an image that captures the surrounding area in these conditions. That foreground is great.

very nice light, i like the contrast

Hamed

Nice to see something different from an often photographed area such as this. Is that a photographer down by the water?

The "big" foreground works indeed very well. The depth created by your composition helps to "get" the place. The patterns and colors are really beautiful and make a good subject on their own. I bet this could go well in terms of print sales!

Chris, by this delicate lighting you show the foreground elements at their best in my opinion. The rocks at the shoreline make for an unique pattern to my eye that keeps my attention. A different point of view that works exceptionally well for me.

Peter

Excellent thinking out of the box. It would work even better for me with a healthy slice out of the sky and then additional foreground, which is where the interest is. So then an expansive foreground leading to the formations and lake and mountains and a sliver of sky to hold it all in place.

gorgeous, Chris. I also love wide views with lots of foreground.

Chris,

Wonderful detail especially in the larger version...The person in the image is not an immediate discovery and does give a sense of scale. However the scene doesn't need the human presence to work well. While some " Chamberlains" have a symphonic quality to them this is more of a tone poem or a sonata if you will. A tapestry weaved of sage , rabbitbrush, tufas distant snow dusted peaks and retreating storm sky. But through the whole flows one melody and that is Mono Lake. Well done Chris, sometimes it pays not to succumb to iconography. Just curious is this a recent or older image? I bagged a few similar to this last year after the get together at the "Whoa Nellie" . I might share as well.

Paul

Thanks guys!

Paul,

It is an older file from 2009, thanks.

About the presence of a person in the scene. If you are talking about the dark speck, yes I guess that's a person. Being only a speck and insignificant, I bet it's probably Lon!!!!!!! Just kidding Lon Anyway, I guess I was just lazy about removing it. With the resolution I get with my camera, it's probably always going to look like just a speck, but I'll go ahead and address it in the print file, thanks!

Chris

Painterly Chris. I love the color palette and the background mountains and water are very pleasing + relaxing. I'd consider reducing the brightness or burning down the top of the sky a little. I really like how you de-emphasized the tufa structures here.

Michal

You nailed the exposure on this-beautiful light over the lake and scrub. I'd be tempted to crop off the top of the sky devoid of most of the clouds. A sweet shot.

This actually works quite well for me, I think the vegetation here is beautiful! I think if it were mine I would crop to just above the far shoreline - the sky isn't adding much and this would emphasize the vegetation and tufas a bit more - really nice (and quite creative) either way.

Beautiful. the light topping the plants is lovely

GORGEOUS, Chris! This gives me a new appreciation for this place. Never been there, but I always got the impression it was a pretty dead looking place until I saw this.

A unique take on this place, and thank you for that. I have seen enough shots of those tufa formations to last me the rest of my life! I like the textures and colors of the foreground a lot. I could see cropping some sky to accentuate them a little more.

This is a wonderful shot Chris.I love this foreground with the beautiful light and color. Your comp worked out really nice as well. Excellent image! Large version is really worth the look.

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

I really like this, Chris. But unlike your other recent posts it's not quite perfect . . . I agree with the others suggesting a partial crop of the sky. I'd take off about 1/3 to 1/2 the sky and then call it done. Beautiful shot.

Love the soft lighting and textures of the foreground, Chris. Great use of layers. A really unique take on this area that works very well in my book. Love it.

Nice clean scene Chris!

Maybe a bit more luminance reduction in a graduated way in the sky from top down? It looks near white on my monitor.