Another Shot at Sparks

Great colours, fantastic detail and powerful composition.

I made a few small adjustments to the right side of the image...

Sparks is a photographer's paradise because despite compositional limitations, it is a major hotbed for great light, due to it's easterly location on the mountain/desert transition zone. This is pretty nice overall. This one feels rather foreground-heavy to me to though, as my eye really should be following some sort of strong transition towards the peak, which in this case is not only darker but just as contrasty as everything up front, which means my eye stays up front as much as it goes towards the back. The wrap-around line at right leads the eye somewhat, but more could be done IMO. Also, I think you could pull some more golds and colors out of the sky if you were so inclined.

Very pretty Mark. A very tranquil scene that makes me wish I was there. One minor nit is that the reflection is a bit lighter than the actual sky.

I agree with Marc's assessment regarding the heaviness of the foreground. This is a very nice scene, though, with lovely color and nice details. I also think the reflection of the mountains and the fir trees are too light. Otherwise, this works pretty well.

--P

A great composition here Mark. Great job!