hmm... Landscaping

[sabraunlich]

I've been trying to improve my landscapes for awhile w/ only mediocre results. THis was shot at Tent Rocks NM. I tried to get the shrub in the foreground, but i'm not certain how well it works. Also wanted to shoot later in the day, but events overcame me. Thoughts?

[mjm]

the upper part of the photo looks good.

the shadow on the right (going into the canyon) is a bit dark for my liking. try dodging that area a bit.

[gahspidy]

It seems to me like you have captured too much in the shot. I am guilty of doing this at times as well. I know you were trying to capture all that you were looking at in the scene, but it has made this shot too busy, to me anyhow. I think would have been better to isolate certain smaller areas to shoot. Or if you really wanted to get this full view, maybe a different location on the cliff and a different time of day. Most of these cliffs in the middle frame are taking hard direct sunlight and are getting washed out because of their bright white ashy color. It's hard to make out where they drop, slope and begin and end. I really like the sky with those clouds and the mountains in the horizon, but they are only a small part of the upper frame.
Sure looks like a beautiful place to experience. . .

[PuckJunkey]

I concur with the observations made in the last post.

I will add that for a mid-day shot you've actually exposed it pretty well. No blown out highlights and there is some detail in the shadows. Sky looks nice with all the clouds. I think the main thing to focus on in the future, is to really try and capture the spefici aspects of the place that make you want to photograph it... don't feel like you have to "frame all of it" to make a good picture.

For instance, there is a set of rock formations on the right that I bet, were you to zoom in on them a bit and shoot at a slightly different angle, you'd have a really interesting shot that still gives a feel for the larger place. Especially if you shot it in the late afternoon.