The image seems a bit soft to me, but a spectacular scene, and some awesome tones! Reading the comments, I have to agree with Joggie here; I'd leave it as is. The green creates a very nice contrast, and besides, cropping anything would only cut off the base of the shrubs, which, IMO, would only disrupt the balance in this photo.
Thanks for the comment, Jacques. I just moved here so I am trying to get my bearings straight. In Denver, I always knew east from west because of the mountains. In Texas, I had to figure out east from west by the direction of streets. Now, I am totally lost because there are mountains all around me and the Interstate highway, which is supposed to run east and west actually runs north and south here as it curves upward.
Okay, this is between Grants and Gallup, near Prewitt off I-40. There are many red bluffs along the trip between Grants and Gallup, a very beautiful drive. This was actually off a gravel county road in eastern McKinley County to the east of I-40.
According to my GPS, I was actually on the Navajo Nation when I took this photo. Throughout this area, there are checkerboard parcels of the reservation mingled with "privately owned" parcels.
Little did I know, I was not supposed to be taking this photo. Apparently you must seek permission from the tribal council to take any photograph on a reservation. And not only do you need a permit but if you take a photo of a person or a dwelling, you must also have the person's permission.
In checking into these rules, I was told that out in the middle of nowhere I probably wouldn't be caught but if I entered a Pueblo and started snapping without first stopping at the council office, I'd run into some major problems. That is disappointing since most Pueblos are very picturesque.
Hope that helps and maybe drop me a line before you come this way.
Excellent image Dave with warm light giving wonderful deep red tones and accentuated texture on the grass and trees. I appreciate the comments of Gary and Dave but would like to differ. The vegatation in the foreground and the hill in the left background place the bluff in it's natural context. The composition is strong and the main subject dominates within the bigger scene. Cropping might render a more dramatic image yes - but it will change the shot to an abstract, while your intention was clearly to produce a landscape, showing the bluffs in their natural setting. Great work. Joggie
Nice shot, Dave. To me, the most striking parts are the bright red rocks and the deep blue sky. As such, I'd crop out the bottom to just capture a bit of the trees and I'd crop off the left side to the edge of the bluff. I think that would yield a more dramatic image with a bit less "clutter"... However, having said that, I do like the present image though I think it's impact isn't quite what it could be. Cheers, Gary
ps, i held a couple sheets of paper to "crop" with at about 1" up from the bottom and over about 1½" from the left...
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{K:75282} 3/25/2006
