Escalante

Gallery: LandscapePosted June 18, 2016242 views12 comments

Got to spend a few days in the Southwest last month, including a couple very enjoyable days in Escalante - Grand Staircase NRA. I came upon this scene after many miles of desert hiking. Ok, it was right along the Hole in the Rock road, but the road was quite bumpy. enlightened

I don't get out to the southwest that much, but this was the nicest grouping of blooming cactus this Midwesterner has ever seen. D600, 50 Sigma Art, 1/40, f16, iso 200. Suggestions, questions, and other comments welcome. crying

Comments

12 comments

Comment posted by Marylynne Diggs on June 19, 2016 at 12:25 AM

I Love hole in the rock road. So much to love along that route. This Is a nice capture of cactus and sky. Looking forward to seeing more from this area.

Registered on December 14, 2010, 122 Posts, 1034 Comments

Comment posted by Harley Goldman on June 19, 2016 at 9:47 AM

Wow, that is one heck of a patch of cactus bloom! You have a great sky to go with it and have put together a real nice (and unusual) hole in the rock image.

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

Comment posted by Richard Sandor on June 19, 2016 at 9:57 AM

Scott: the contrast between the very bright colors of the cactus flowers and the subdued tones of the balance of the image are very appealing. Congrats!! Richard

Registered on January 12, 2014, 453 Posts, 1625 Comments

Comment posted by Dan Kearl on June 19, 2016 at 10:43 AM

Outstanding display of cactus blooms, one of the best I have seen. I might take a bit off the top for a more
"thirds" comp and to put more emphasis on the bloom.

Registered on September 2, 2013, 209 Posts, 1514 Comments

Comment posted by scott lanz on June 19, 2016 at 11:36 AM

Thanks for the good suggestion, Dan. I also strongly considered this, but I decided to keep the dark and more dramatic clouds at the top to give this a bit of drama. This makes cropping a tough call (and I could not shoot any lower because it was just dirt from the edge of the dirt road). Curious what others think about cropping.

Registered on November 14, 2003, 840 Posts, 12902 Comments

Comment posted by Marylynne Diggs on June 19, 2016 at 11:45 PM

I like the idea of a slight crop. You could keep the lowest bank of dark clouds keeping that drama, but reducing the competition for the cactus.
ML

Registered on December 14, 2010, 122 Posts, 1034 Comments

Comment posted by gary phillips on June 20, 2016 at 11:23 AM

Beautiful cactus in bloom image, Scott. I can why you were conflicted about a crop. Hard to lose such a nice sky. I played around with some crops and think you could go either way. I like it as is.

Registered on October 24, 2013, 185 Posts, 4136 Comments

Comment posted by Sairam Sundaresan on June 20, 2016 at 5:36 PM

A very dramatic and moody scene, Scott. the flowers are a touch electric but that's a personal preference I suppose. Great work.

Registered on March 14, 2013, 100 Posts, 643 Comments

Comment posted by Harry Lichtman on June 21, 2016 at 10:17 AM

What a vibrant scene. You might have lost a little detail in the blooms with such saturation - maybe check this in your file. The less than great monitor I am currently on appears oversat. Also, there appears to be some red in the base of the central clouds - could this light be reflecting off the desert colors. I don't see this to the right or left of the image. Looks like a great area - never been there but this inspires me.

Registered on September 17, 2010, 304 Posts, 3507 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on June 21, 2016 at 11:00 AM

Those cacti blooms are a great foreground here, Scott. I also like how you've included the distant mountains and it's a wonderful sky. I like this comp. with it's balance between the blooms and the sky. I too see the red tinges in the clouds that Harry mentions.

Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments

Comment posted by John Williams on June 21, 2016 at 11:44 AM

I've only been on that road once, but will definitely return.

The cactus is a treat of color Scott. (I do agree with Harry; it might be worth backing the saturation off a little to recover slightly more detail.) The nice cloud drama above provides a nice top layer.

Registered on September 6, 2007, 221 Posts, 5985 Comments

Comment posted by Ryan Shain on June 22, 2016 at 2:41 PM

Hi Scott,

I like this image as is because the clouds add a wonderful element to the image, and help keep me interested in the image as a whole. The cactus blooms are vibrant and really bring me into the image nicely. I like the idea of reducing a bit of the saturation oin the blooms just a bit, as they do seem a bit overly vibrant. Other than that small nit, this is sweet bro!

Registered on February 20, 2007, 226 Posts, 4571 Comments