Desert Bouquet

[JimFox]

While traveling through Utah a week ago, I stopped as I often do at a couple of the rest areas along the I-70. As opposed to your typical rest area in most of the US, along the I-70, the rest areas incorporate awesome viewpoints as well. So I don't stop there to rest, but to explore and take photos. This is in one such area, the Salt Wash Rest Area. What's great about this one is that there is a ladder to step over the fencing surrounding it, so that you can walk out into the desert if you choose. That's where I found this.

I shot this wider, 16mm because I really wanted to get the cracks in the desert ground in the image too. I did shoot some where the flowers were closer in the image, but I did that by switching lenses. I didn't want to walk on that pristine looking ground. I did find later where someone had walked through there on the right side, but from my angle those footprints aren't visible.

It was a stormy day, with a bit of rain. At this point the storm clouds behind me were breaking up and the sun would pop out for a few minutes every once in a while. This was one of those times when the sun popped out.

All comments are welcome,

Jim

 

[Bob]

Hey Jim,
I like the image but I would crop out the cracks. The cracks although maybe interesting to you I would like to see the flowers closer as the main foreground element. Based on your description it sounds like you have that image but with a different lens.

 

[Ben Egbert]

Not your average rest area. This is nice image but I agree with Bob

 

[AlanLichty]

Neat blooms but I agree with the previous comments about cropping down in front to make the flowers the foreground.

 

[JimFox]

Hey Jim,
I like the image but I would crop out the cracks. The cracks although maybe interesting to you I would like to see the flowers closer as the main foreground element. Based on your description it sounds like you have that image but with a different lens.

Hey Bob, I totally appreciate that. I totally get it, and that's why I captured it also with the flowers in the immediate foreground, but I thought those pristine cracks really made for a cool image too. Maybe I am too obsessed with the cracks.

I do have that image with the flowers in the foreground, I will get it processed maybe tonight or tomorrow hopefully.

 

[JimFox]

Not your average rest area. This is nice image but I agree with Bob

Thanks Ben. I will work on that.

 

[JimFox]

Neat blooms but I agree with the previous comments about cropping down in front to make the flowers the foreground.

This image wasn't meant to be about the blooms, it was meant to be about the cracks.

But I did photograph it with a longer lens so that I could get the flowers in the foreground and also not step on the cracks and break my mothers back.

 

[Alisa]

Beautiful Jim!!

 

[MonikaC]

I have to agree with the crop suggestions. I think you tried to capture too much in this image.

 

[ProCaliberTraveler]

@JimFox, I agree with the comments about cropping the photo at the bottom to make the flowers the foreground. Perhaps you didn’t get low enough to really highlight the cracks you intended to feature. It looks like you took the image standing up, which makes the cracks a bit inconspicuous. The first thing I noticed in the image was the wonderful purple wildflowers!

 

[JimFox]

Beautiful Jim!!

Thanks Alisa!

 

[JimFox]

I have to agree with the crop suggestions. I think you tried to capture too much in this image.

I appreciate that Monika. I am working on the flowers in the foreground image as we speak.

 

[JimFox]

@JimFox, I agree with the comments about cropping the photo at the bottom to make the flowers the foreground. Perhaps you didn’t get low enough to really highlight the cracks you intended to feature. It looks like you took the image standing up, which makes the cracks a bit inconspicuous. The first thing I noticed in the image was the wonderful purple wildflowers!

Thanks Michael. I am in a minority of 1 I guess.... Even as I work on the version with no cracks but the flowers in the bottom, I still like this version better.

If I had gotten lower, the flowers would have been minimized even more since my angle would have been so low. I generally speaking, and this is my personal feelings, I don't like images where the camera is too low to the ground. Unless the purpose is to eliminate the middle ground that is. And I did not want to eliminate the flowers, which is why I did capture this from a normal tripod height. I know of photographers who like to get low to the ground, but that's just not my style.

Stay tuned, I will hopefully post an image tomorrow without the cracks in the foreground.