Sring Time in the Alvord

Oh yes, click the image for a larger view.

Excellent work, especially in a larger scale.  Natural and wow!  Best Regards,

Paul, you've rendered these clouds so perfectly.  I'm quite sure I would have emphasized their internal contrast, making them more ominous perhaps, but doing away with the more subtle quality you've shown here.

I'm struck by (what seems to me to be that fact that) most of the frame appears to be in hiding -- the back sky revealing little (well, there's nothing there), and the clouds enveloping and concealing the mountains.  But for a viewer who has never been here, they would not know of those mountains behind the clouds, and I think (but I'm not sure) that the photograph should be seen primarily from that point of view.  So that leaves about 20% of the frame showing a flat surface and the base of what may be a more varied landscape, then a wonderful white cloud extending diagonally across the frame, with featureless black sky above all of this.  When I sit back and take it all in, it seems to about the empty sky and a cloud that may be hiding something, with just a bit of earth at the bottom to hint at what may be unseen behind the clouds.

This works best for me as someone who has camped at this place in the past and who has a mental picture of the scene without the cloud.  If I hadn't been here previously, I don't think the photograph would have as strong of an impact.  We seldom photograph clouds; we usually look at them to support or add drama/interest to a larger landscape.  When about 80% of the frame is made up of a cloud or dark sky, what can a viewer see in that?  It's knowing (from having been here before) what's behind the cloud that adds much interest for me.

Stephan. You're comments are right on target. I sent out an annual e-mail to some friends that visit this area with me every spring and I attached this photo knowing it was not that "balanced", but that the cloud would get their juices going about this year’s trip. Most of them were present when I took the image. I expected no response about the image, but got some very positive responses including an offer to purchase. I was a little surprised so I posted it on FB and got some praise including a “share". Still not convinced it’s a great landscape I posted it on PN thinking maybe this belongs in one of my upcoming shows even though I think it's flawed. But alas, the posting on PN has pretty much been ignored. Normally I wouldn’t let that stop me, but it supports my initial feelings about the image....none of which will keep me from selling a copy of it to someone who knows the area.