Juniper, nearly the end.

Please critique, thanks.

I'm not sure is this real, :) But is very eye catching. Beautiful!!!

Yes, very real. I used curves to lighten the darker areas of the tree and reduced the intensity of the blue channel and that's it. This was taken just outside of Moab, UT with the temp at 106F.

What is the aperture on this one? I'm wondering how the background might look with an extremely shallow dof. I didn't see any filters in your details; it seems like a polarizer would be a good choice here. I like how the tree twists; it should be dead but against all odds, it still survives. Good find.

I know Thai; this is a good example of my shortcomings in photography. I set up the camera and noticed I didn't have the polarize on it. I couldn't get the angle I really wanted so I said heck with going back to my vehicle to get it. I allowed myself to feel rushed and consequently didn't bother with the settings either. So, no polarize and an f/8 aperture. If I'm not alone, I allow myself to feel rushed eventhough I'm not.

Good golly.....good comp, good color, about the right DOF for me, and I love the detail and texture in the old Juniper. And I appreciate the "confession", sometimes (most of the time) I just point and shoot too.

Thanks Susan! I try and try, try again even harder.

I don't transition easily from work to photography to my life on our small farm.

Thanks for your honest and open comments, Dave