Antelope Storm

Gallery: LandscapePosted May 18, 2012463 views13 comments

I still have a case of flower fever that has not been satiated this year. So I have gone back two years to when I had last seen a descent wildflower bloom in the southern California deserts, namely the Antelope Valley. Even though color abounds in this image, it was a weak wildflower showing, as the plants barely were over 8 inches tall. I recall from maybe a decade ago, poppy plants as tall as nearly 2 feet!

Anyway, I was never happy with the processing I originally did, so I returned to it and using TK Masks I hand blended four digital exposures to retain color detail in the sky.

I appreciate the feed back I have received on the last several images and would love to hear your thoughts on this one.

Larger version included.

Comments

13 comments

Comment posted by John Tobias on May 18, 2012 at 7:35 AM

Very nice and colorful image. Your skill with blending images is obvious. thanks for sharing.

Registered on September 12, 2009, 2120 Posts, 6455 Comments

Comment posted by Joerg Bonner on May 18, 2012 at 10:30 AM

beautiful flowers and sky! you did a good job with the blending! the detail in the larger version is incredible!

Registered on September 5, 2011, 44 Posts, 221 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Chambers on May 18, 2012 at 11:43 AM

Beautiful Youssef. This HAS to be viewed in the large version to be fully appreciated! The little specks of blue jumping out among the yellow and orange is wonderful. Well done.

Registered on April 10, 2005, 753 Posts, 21216 Comments

Comment posted by Phil Pogledich on May 18, 2012 at 12:37 PM

I really like this, Youssef. The color of the poppies and goldfields (?) is nicely complemented by the sky, and the distant storm gives this a dramatic touch.

Registered on August 24, 2009, 123 Posts, 3099 Comments

Comment posted by R.Bill Moser on May 18, 2012 at 2:31 PM

Very beautiful scene. The large version is even better and this must be seen in large to fully appreciate it.

Registered on January 29, 2010, 285 Posts, 4281 Comments

Comment posted by Harley Goldman on May 18, 2012 at 10:47 PM

Looks great large! What a sea of color.

I believe the great year was 2003. I got my first LF camera and was trying to figure out how to use it out in the Antelope valley. It took me about 25 minutes to set up a simple image with tilt. Ah, the bad old days. I thought every year looked like that there and at Gorman. It turned out to be one of the best years in decades. If I only knew how to use the camera back then.

Registered on November 19, 2003, 586 Posts, 11271 Comments

Comment posted by Joseph Kayne on May 19, 2012 at 12:30 AM

Registered on November 1, 2003, 573 Posts, 2619 Comments

Comment posted by Fabio Giarrizzo on May 19, 2012 at 4:23 AM

Beautiful colors, composition and processing job on this image- My congrats, Fabio

Registered on December 3, 2010, 90 Posts, 1614 Comments

Comment posted by Robert Dayton on May 19, 2012 at 8:29 PM

Wildflowers is one of my favorite subjects. I like your composition and the processing.

Registered on November 11, 2008, 281 Posts, 3958 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on May 20, 2012 at 4:52 PM

I agree with the others...You really do have to view the larger version. Wonderful!

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

Registered on February 1, 2004, 752 Posts, 14140 Comments

Comment posted by Vance Gese on May 21, 2012 at 5:56 PM

The detail and beauty of this can only be appreciated with the larger image and that seems to give only a hint at what a large print would look like. Color and light .... simply spectacular, Youssef.