Organ Pipe Cactus

In hindsight, I can't understand why I didn't compose this shot with the organ pipe cactus more prominent, instead of behind a bush. Doh! I just loved the dead wood (horns?) in front of it.

 

I'll attach a couple more shots from that same spot. I was a bit disappointed, though. I thought that the "Organ Pipe National Monument" would be FULL of organ pipe cacti. But there were only a few spots with patches of them. There were many miles where I didn't see any of them at all. BUT ... the saguaro were everywhere! :-)

Any comments or ratings are appreciated! :-)

I went there back in 98 with a friend from Yuma. It's certainly in an isolated area.

 

I like this one. You capture the entire park in one picture!

Here's an organ pipe cactus alone...

And this - to help you see the proportion. (That's the car I rented while in Arizona - it was a blast!!)

Thank you, Ray - I just caught your comment. You complement me ... capturing the whole park in one picture - that's high praise. Thank you!

Hi,

I like your subject and your shot, but I might tighten the comp a bit by cropping the left to the FG "antlers" just to keep things focused. Also maybe reprocess and pop the color a bit. (my.02) 6/5

Thanks, Zeph. I know this is not the optimal framing for this image. Not sure what was going through my head when I took it. I tend to like to keep my crops 4x6 ... just a personal preference. I also liked that mountain peak on the left, which would be lost if I cropped to the antlers.... (sigh.....)

Composition wise, I like this very much and I agree with Zeph and would give it a boost of colour especially in the background. I personally would not crop it. Wow your shot of the cactus and car is great, could be an add for Mustang.

Hello Lou Ann,

 

Your cacti collections are great. Thanks for sharing,much appreciated.

LOL of that bio you wrote.

Actually, you might consider cropping the right side into the creosote bush (no loss there). Cropping from the left you'd not only lose the mountain, but center the organ pipe too, and you don't want that. There, my $.02 ;>) Chris

I don;t know... I like it just the way it is. The saguaros outnumber the organ pipes drastically. It's very dry and arid and that's just the way I remember the color, washed out ground and pinkish hills. For me, it's postcard perfect.

I'm waitin' for the bomber sunset photograph from Organ Pipe NM??? You didn't leave early did you? Have a great weekend! Cheers! Chris

Oh, Chris - I did leave early. I was only in AZ for a week, and there were lots of things I wanted to do ... mostly in the area south and east of Tucson, so OPNM was so far out of my way, I couldn't justify sitting around waiting for sunset there. :-( Sorry......

Love the desert ~ these images move me in that direction again. Excellent color and sharpness ~ composition is a plus! David from Oregon has a smile for ya.

Wonderful desert landscape!...Ciaomau!

You did very well with cactus shots, Lou Ann. They are not the easiest subjects, mostly because the lighting often tends to be very stark. But you have nice balance in your compositions and the color is very good.

Great shots Lou Ann! Makes me want to jump in the car and go find a desert. Just curious? Did you process any into B&W? Regards, Doug.

Thanks, Doug. There are a few of the B&W conversions in this folder. I often like to do the B&W when there is a nice sky with some puffy clouds. Most of the time I was in AZ, the sky was completely cloudless! GO! Find a desert!! :-)

Great! I'll go take a peek!

i love this one too. i'm not troubled bny the bush. to me it just adds another texture.