"Tidy Tip Invasion"

I feel that the spring wildflower season is on the way out at Carrizo Plain National Monument in central California. Still, there are some healthy stands. This swath must measure in the square miles, if only a couple. In this case, I have my tripod as low as it will go. To convey this as our eyes would see it, I employed a five frame focus stack. This insures that the closest flowers would be sharp and the balance of the field would remain sharp all the way to the horizon. Some super wide lenses might have that much depth of field, but certainly not mine. The tidy tips glow with the backlighting, giving them an extra punch of yellow. It was early Saturday evening and I was the only person in this field. What the heck do normal people do on a Saturday afternoon anyway?

A voluminous swath of wildflowers that must be seen Larger! Thanks for

any discussion!!

Amazing, when your name comes up on my favorites list, I'm always anxious to see the beauty of the environment that you so gracioulsly share with us in your images.  This one is no exception.  Your point of view, perspective and depth of color always gives me such a great deal of satisfaction. They have a profound ability to raise our awareness of the beauty that surrounds us.  Thanks for your ability to see as you do.  Take good care, rek.

Beautiful and amazing!

an outstanding photo. i really like it. as i looked first at it, i noticed some greenish colors in the foreground. i made some adjustments, hope you dont mind, some brightness/contrast, and color adjustment ( shown only at the right half of the foreground for better comparsion). i dont claim it is better, nor a big difference, just show my way to see the colors. best regards!

Thanks Pablo, Richard, Gunnar and Zsolt! Nice of you to say, Richard! Zsolt, your suggestions are so appreciated. I have made some adjustments based upon your keen eye, mainly correcting the cyan-green tint in the flower tips, which are indeed white. The scene will look warmer and somewhat brighter when the upload has replaced the current preview. It is a remarkable improvement!

Outstanding work Mark,from the composition to the DOF and the processing,remarkable exposure management as well.Excellent,top marks from me

Eye Catching composition... Nicely done...!!!

Glad to see you had the chance to get out there Mark.  I can't believe how the shot is?  Very worthy of a 7!!

Excellent!!!

Thanks Harry, Sreehari, Steve and Javier! Since your comments, I reworked the image based upon Zsolt's suggestions. I like the rework but expect some may see it as too bright in the foreground. When grads were introduced way back, this was not uncommon to see the exposure upside down, but nowadays, many will call you on it. Well, if they want to call me on it, so be it. I like it as it is now!!

typo ,  can't believe how the shot is so endless!

Mark,

Bravo for a superb and dramatic image.  Do you know Jack Dykinga's photos?  He professes the importance of filling the frame.  You've done so beautifully here.  The light is superb and it is reflected and absorbed well in these interesting flowers.  Do you know the name of the flowers?  You demonstrate the power of the wide angle here.  Everything about the image is "right on."  Personally, I like your image better than the edited one.  The luminance and detail in the greens - even if there is a tinge of cyan in the flowers - adds life and power to the flowers.    Congratulations on a terrific image.  Best regards.  Larry 

Looks great! well done!!

What an incredible field of flowers Mark! I've never seen anything like this. You captured the depth of this scene brilliantly, with excellent detail in the foreground flowers. Well done guy!

All the best,
Neil

What a beautiful photo.

Great shot! ... love it!

Thanks Lenny, Larry, Pekka, Neil, Christopher and Tm! Larry, I am familiar with Jack Dykinga; one of my favorite landscape phtographers. The flowers are called Tidy Tips, though I am sure there is a much more dramatic latin name attached. Sorry to all of you for the delayed response; I have been away from PNet for a few days, so just getting caught up!