anish

Absolutely beautiful, Mark! This version definitely addresses the concern I had with the earlier post. Given the enormous resolution, this would look great as a 24"x36" or even 30"x40" print.

This looked to be a pretty good spring for wildflowers.

Anish

The sense of movement is what I think is strongest in this image. Not just the clouds, but with the flow of foreground lines as well. Very dynamic. My only critique would be regarding the strong vignette. I'm a fan of using these myself, and I don't think it looks necessarily bad here, but it's almost overpowering in this case, especially on the foreground playa. I'm wondering if this was a conscious decision.

Anish

Kah Kit,

I've been a fan of your work for some time, and always enjoy seeing new entries. On this image in particular, I'm wondering if you can share how you oriented the hard edge 3 stop filter. In situations like this, I usually resort to using no filters and blending multiple exposures in PS, but I'd like to learn how to better use my split ND's so I can get closer to the final image in camera. Thanks for any insight.

Anish

Thanks for the critique, Gary. I actually did crop the left side a little from the original, but I'm going to play around with it some more. I didn't want to lose the tree altogether as it helps with framing and provides a middlground element, but I can see how some would find the existing image somewhat cluttered in that area. Without the tree altogether, though, I think the image becomes too boring. Thanks again for your insight.

Anish

This is an image taken/posted a couple years ago. I've re-processed

and cropped it much more to my liking. Thanks for viewng.

The B&W version is far better, in my opinion. The composition here is good, but it's been overprocessed and the colors appear harsh. A couple of suggestions would be to reduce some of the yellow cast and to reduce the saturation/contrast in the foreground terrain.

Anish

This image is from last year, but my original posting was poorly

processed. This is an improved version. Thanks for any comments.

My original post was poorly processed. This image presents the scene

as I intended. Thanks for viewing.

I like the composition, but I think the contrast may be a bit too high. In particular, I think the image might be improved by opening up the shadow areas in the foreground and middleground, and by adding a curves layer to even out the tones in the sky.

Anish

Either a tighter crop or stronger foreground might improve the composition, but the light is just awesome.

Anish

A variation of an image I took years ago. Any comments welcome.

Anish

Re-posted after minor levels adjustment - original was too dark. Thanks

for viewing and for any comments.

Anish

One of the best Monument Valley photos I've ever seen! Very original composition and perfectly executed.

Anish

Thanks to all for the comments.

Floris - I see what you're saying, but it was actually rather dark in this stretch of the canyon at the time of capture. I did bracket exposures, but 1/2 stop higher and the foreground rock was blown out. I actually had to burn the highlights on the rock to keep the tones balanced. I could've used a curves layer to boost the canyon walls, but I liked the sense of mystery in this particular version.

Peter - this is from "planet" Zion.

Thanks again...

Thanks for the comments, everyone. Lalit, I wish I could've been there before the leaves started to fall, but I was a week or so too late. A clear sky might've allowed some warm light to reflect off the canyon walls, but on this day, it was overcast. Nonetheless, I am still happy with the result...

Anish

This is an alternate composition from an image I posted a few years

ago. I came across it while sorting old slides, and realized I like it better

than the one I initially chose. Comments welcome.

Anish

For sharpness, a tripod is the most important thing. But also, you want to make sure you've chosen the right focus distance based on your shooting aperture. At very small apertures you'll have a large DOF, but with apertures in the mid to large range, you have to be careful where you focus to make sure you get the DOF you want. I've made myself a few DOF charts for my different lenses, and I keep them in my camera bag so i can refer quickly if needed.

Anish

Thanks Bettie,

Death Valley is indeed a great place to experiment with B&W photography. Actually, I need to get back there myself. It's been too long...

Anish

I like your B&W conversion overall, but your processing has created some unusual and unnatural effects on the distant peaks. Looking at your original confirmed my thoughts. Also, the halo effect on the sky just above the peaks is quite noticeable. A little re-work on that area, and I think you have a good image...

Anish

I think this is a nice idea, captured in good light. The only thing I would suggest is to exclude the small rocks in the upper right. To me, the 3 important elements here are the upper rock in cool light, the lower rock in warm light, and the main cluster of rocks jammed in between (nicely placed about 1/3 from the left and top). The rocks at the upper right throw off the simplicity and harmony of the image, which i feel is its strength.

Anish