Cholla Cactus garden at sunrise. Joshua Tree National Park

I just love the back lighting.

a very interesting photo to view and enjoy .. thanks for bringing your work to photo.net

Highly interesting scene, excellent shot

This is an absolutely beautiful picture! I don't think there is anything I would change in it. Wow.

The cactus, back-lit by the sunrise, are beautiful, but I think I would like it even more, if the foreground cactuses were in sharper focus.

The back lighting and exposure is superb to the point of the cacti in the middle distance. However, I echo Brian's comment. If only the closer cacti were sharper.

Lovely. Might I ask which lens was used?

This was done with a 24mm lens (the Canon EF TSE,

although no movements were used). I might also have a GND, but I'd have to refer to notes. The slide is actually sharp. The problem with an image of this type is that the perceived

sharpness depends critically on

very small elements (the backlit cacti needles)

which cannot be accurately rendered in a

medium quality 640x480 jpeg. And of course, this

is nothing compared to the 5x7 transparency of

the same scene I made a few minutes before...

Point taken (pun intended). Do we get to see the 5x7?

It may be so that the sharpness cannot be rendered in a low resolution JPEG, although unsharp masking generally helps. If that is so, perhaps you should upload somewhat larger files, or choose other photographs that are not so resolution-critical.

Beautiful shot.. incredible back lighting through the cacti!

Excellent shot. Did you use a graduated ND filter?

This is a perfect example of why I'll never be a great photographer - I'm just NOT A MORNING PERSON!

 

Your landscape photos show real devotion and patience in getting that perfect light. That's hard work, and I hope people here can appreciate that.

 

Rock on.

Very powerful, more please!

I think this is the best anyone would be able to get out of this scene. Everything is just right: the light, the composition, the colours and contrast. Great work!!

Perfect indeed ! Except for one detail: the scan is a bit soft... Otherwise a real treat for the eye, and one of your very best shots... Try uploadinga sharper version maybe... Regards.

The picture in this folder are amazing...my best compliments!!!

Great work. I'd also love a look at a scan of the 5x7.

Regarding the sharpness of the foreground, I just saw this shot in View Camera Magazine (Sept-Oct 2003) and the foreground is brutally sharp. To be fair, the published version is from a 5x7 transparency with the identical composition as this 35mm. This JPEG viewed on my screen has a more luminous quality than the version printed. It will be great when the technology matures to the point that both opaque prints and screen JPEGs can match the quality contained on the transparency.

Just a note to those who don't see View Camera: Quang-Tuan Luong is the "first person to have photographed all 57 U.S. National Parks with a large format camera."