C&C on Landscape Image, please :-)

[sojourn]

This area of superb sandstone rocks is only about a mile from my home. Indian petroglyphs and great formations of pillow rocks make this a special place.

In this image, I was trying to clone out a dead tree, color correct and provide a bit of contrast.

Since I use a polarizer filter, my skies tend to vignette on the corners (which I like) but it makes it nearly impossible to clone skyline objects. I tried to copy and flop the sky in the middle of the image to rid myself of the pesky tree, but now I have a dark area of sky where it shouldn't be.

Is it too obvious? I don't have any plain, empty sky shots to drop in...but I will start taking some. Thousands of images of sky but none without clouds in it.

So here is the original image (with itty bitty biplane in the sky):

And here is the touched up version. Beyond the obvious shortcomings with the sky color, am I going in the right direction with composition, color and contrast?

 

[Mesoam]

the lighting is so flat it highlights nothing in the picture

 

[sojourn]

the lighting is so flat it highlights nothing in the picture

Hmm. So to make this image better it would have needed some special lighting, say early morning or evening? This exposure would lend itself to morning sun only.

Perhaps the beauty is in the eye of the beholder, then. I think it is special because it is something of an oasis of interesting rocks and water in a very arid landscape...my problem, and my task, is to translate that interest to the viewer.

 

[Mesoam]

Listen, all that really matters is if YOU like the shot. I can't tell you how many crappy snap shots I have that I love because they mean something to me.

Anyway, yes dawn/dusk will highlight this area nicely. Think about in the AM, perhaps some mist on the pond and light shining through.

 

[sojourn]

Listen, all that really matters is if YOU like the shot. I can't tell you how many crappy snap shots I have that I love because they mean something to me.

Anyway, yes dawn/dusk will highlight this area nicely. Think about in the AM, perhaps some mist on the pond and light shining through.

I am not put out, I know that I have a LOT to learn about what makes a great photograph. That is why I am here, to learn.

Until I came here, I would never have considered changing the sky, nor cloning out undesireble components or cropping the image for better composition...even though I did that as a matter of course in my job for many years. I took pretty pictures and left it at that.

As any artistic communicator, it is up to ME to present my subject in a way that captures the viewer's attention and affection...perhaps other views and perspectives of this interesting place is needed to communicate that interest I find in this pile of rocks.

Perhaps this is a better representation of the unique sandstone formations, with a lightly overcast sky for lighting:

 

[matfoster]

Perhaps this is a better representation of the unique sandstone formations, with a lightly overcast sky for lighting:

that's some amazing lichen coverage! i thought in this picture it is limestone! but now i look more closely. overcast gives a good light for this rock/lichen. when the days are longer than at the moment, it is also very magical - the light a little before sunrise, on a cloudy day.

with the first pair of picture versions... i think the composition is good. i prefer the contrast in the original, out the camera. mainly because of the shadow detail of the rock and the color of the water (relections). they appear more natural to me.

 

[sojourn]

Perhaps this is a better representation of the unique sandstone formations, with a lightly overcast sky for lighting:

that's some amazing lichen coverage! i thought in this picture it is limestone! but now i look more closely. overcast gives a good light for this rock/lichen. when the days are longer than at the moment, it is also very magical - the light a little before sunrise, on a cloudy day.

with the first pair of picture versions... i think the composition is good. i prefer the contrast in the original, out the camera. mainly because of the shadow detail of the rock and the color of the water (relections). they appear more natural to me.

You want lichen, I'll give you lichen! These rocks, and others nearby, are arrayed in amazing colors, and assorted mosses as well.

In the other picture, you will see a pie shaped rock in the right foreground (you can see where if fell from, above). That 100lb. stone made it home and is now a part of my lichen garden.

This is part of a very large seam of sandstone. We also have large deposits of grey limestone as well. It does not accumulate the lichen like the sandstone does, but it has some great fossilized coral in it.

 

[matfoster]

that's great. and general indication of good air quality in that environment, yes? what size are the lichen groups in this picture..it all looks quite ancient at 2mm per year!

 

[sojourn]

Our air quality could be better, but it certainly isn't as bad as farther south in the state.

That last image encompasses perhaps 3' x 5-6', or roughly 1m x 2m(?).

I have a rock that has a healthy blue-grey lichen that is 17cm x 24cm, (6.75" x 9.50") it was rescued from a construction site, flipped over and dying. It is the rock center top.

The pie-shaped rock from the other image is top center right, and doing nicely in this rainstorm, the white dots are pear flower petals beaten down in the rain and wind.

 

[matfoster]

that looks really fine! i'm into cacti. i have a mix from various parts of the world. some of them are really struggling over the winter - i bring them indoors at night. they seem to suffer burns from the frost and cold.

 

[sojourn]

that looks really fine! i'm into cacti. i have a mix from various parts of the world. some of them are really struggling over the winter - i bring them indoors at night. they seem to suffer burns from the frost and cold.

Matfoster, you and I are kindred cacti spirits, then!

I love cacti, here are some of my Echinopsis and Opuntia and I have a small greenhouse full of specimens. I also collect Sempervivum and Sedum.

My climate is very hot and dry in the summer and cold and wet in the winter. The cacti in the ground do suffer somewhat from the wet, some don't make it through the colder winters (we had record lows this winter). The very tender ones, like all my Euphorbs, come in to winter in a cold room.

1. Echinopsis 'Stars and Stripes'.

2. More Echinopsis in bloom:

3. Opuntia 'Santa Rita' :

 

[matfoster]

wow this is cool. those flowers are splendid. i live in a very challenging environment for the cacti, 53 degrees north, maritime climate (4 seasons per day, j/k). i had a few flowers last year though...similar to the red ones in your photo. i'll have to make some photos for you. mine are only maybe 18 months old or so. (and i need to swot up on some names).

have you ever heard of a cactus that looks like its wearing a fur coat? i have one (i thought it was called Dobrowksi??) but i can't find it on the web. it's really slow growing with long, thin spines.

 

[sojourn]

wow this is cool. those flowers are splendid. i live in a very challenging environment for the cacti, 53 degrees north, maritime climate (4 seasons per day, j/k). i had a few flowers last year though...similar to the red ones in your photo. i'll have to make some photos for you. mine are only maybe 18 months old or so. (and i need to swot up on some names).

have you ever heard of a cactus that looks like its wearing a fur coat? i have one (i thought it was called Dobrowksi??) but i can't find it on the web. it's really slow growing with long, thin spines.

Yes, it would be tough to grow arid loving cacti in a decidedly un-arid climate! As far the names...the botanical world changes them as quickly as I learn them. I've practically given up trying to learn them.

For instance this cacti I have growing in a rusty Hibachi I found in a garage sale used to be called 'Chamaecereus sylvestri', now it is Echinopsis chamaecereus!:

As far as a fur coat cacti...does it have flat pads, or cylindrical with long hairs? Take a picture, I might be able to help identify it.