The Desert Dance

Exposure and color are wonderful in this image. Very nice balancing of the three foreground elements, too.

Blooming hedgehog cactus in Anza-Borrego State Park, CA.

Very effective composition. Loving the foreground and that tall cactus farther away. Masterful photography :)

enchanting image and perfect colors contrast i like it regards 6/6

Well composed and wonderful rich colours, great work, regards

A nice composition which could, in my opinion, be improved upon by cropping out about half of the sky area as it, being brighter, tends to compete too heavily with your main subject. The flat lighting, though allowing for lots of shadow detail to show through, doesn't do your subject justice. For me, a bit of brighter, more directional light is required for this subject. A fine result for your efforts in any case. Best, LM.

Thank you Len for your thought out critique. I can't really see cropping out any sky as the two clouds and ocotillo are all very important parts of the image for me, and cropping the sky would cut some of them out and place the others awkwardly close to the edge of the frame. Unfortunately I didn't find this spot until around this time, so I did not get a chance to see what it looked like with backlighting, and by morning the clouds had dissipated. I'm afraid that with any direct lighting the ocotillo would become too prominent, as it would receive light much sooner than the flowering cactus. Again, I really appreciate your critique, and a few others have mentioned they would prefer some direct lighting, so I'll be on the look out for an opportunity like that next year.

You've probably come away with the best image you could under the conditions confronting you. Not always possible for a re-shoot and, as you pointed out, atmospheric conditions would never be the same anyway. You've defended your choices well and presented me with a few things to think about to boot. Thanks for your in-depth response. Best, LM.