Cactus

[David Eckels]

Finally got to shooting again after relocating to Arizona. Went out at sunset decided to work on cactus shots with my v2/70-200. For these first three, I would like compositional advice on whether to tilt the camera (same cactus, three angles). I have published the series on my behance page if you're interested in making comments there:

http://www.behance.net/drdvde/wip

I am seeking a unifying look with appropriate PP, obviously, and may consider going to a monotone approach.

[RSL]

Hi David, I like the fourth one very much, but to me the closeup of the cactus needs either to be shot close enough to become an abstraction or with enough context to let the viewer know its natural angle: in other words with a horizon. I say this without knowing what your intent was, so I may have missed the point.

[David Eckels]

...so I may have missed the point.

Which is a good point! I know I am already behind the 8-ball if I have to explain, but I wanted to shoot a cactus "portrait" and add a little dynamic diagonality to it. Another four in the series attached.

[RSL]

Okay, but how about this? And I like #4 again. The sky is starting to do something interesting behind those cacti.

[David Eckels]

Russ, you cropped! I like it!
Yes, the sky in the "second #4" is interesting; definitely a work in progress.

[RSL]

Yeah, I cropped, but if I'd had the camera in hand I'd have cropped on the camera. I think you may be on to something, David. Keep working on it.

[Chris Calohan]

Might I be so bold as to add to Russ's crop in editing so the fore cacti branch stands off the back one just a bit more.

[David Eckels]

Learned at least two things from the critiques: Two important things that draw me are the shape of these majestic plants and the way the spines sharply contrast with the flowing forms. I shot these initial pics from 50 to 300 yards away and I am simply not getting enough resolution even on the tripod. So I will have to get closer and also try to isolate that which fascinates me about them. A friend pointed out that there are so many of these that it is hard to avoid cliche; nevertheless I am going to pursue it further. The greens are very intriguing, especially in the morning/evening light, but I think I will do the study in a monotone sepia.
I like the attached version and think I will go after a consistent style along these lines.
Thanks for the comments.

[luxborealis]

Great series, David. Have you considered a near-far approach, such as produced with a wideangle lens? You might get the best of both worlds if you were really close showing only part of a foreground cactus with the sweep of the landscape behind.

[David Eckels]

Thanks for the suggestion Terry. I tried that with 1531 above; more of a selective focus and not quite what you're describing I think, but a near/far, close-up/pano could be quite interesting. I've been reviewing cactus shots on 500px, really to see what to avoid, but there are some great photographs there. It's funny how many people here take cactus for granted or consider it a nuisance, but to me, it's a new visual form to study! Since I am surrounded by it, I better make the best of it, don't you think?

[David Eckels]

The last from this particular set. It was in the OP, but I was not happy with the overly brooding ambiance. I need to go hunting along the lines suggested by previous posts and may show them here if they are good.

[luxborealis]

The last from this particular set. It was in the OP, but I was not happy with the overly brooding ambiance. I need to go hunting along the lines suggested by previous posts and may show them here if they are good.

I like the crop of this; it works much better. Do you notice wide, but subtle halos around each cactus backed by sky/clouds? Also the tops are decidedly darker than than the bottoms of those cactus - evidence of a grad filter? If the grad filter is necessary (I.e. What you want to achieve is not possible with an adjustment brush), consider raising the values of those cactus tops with an adjustment brush set to, perhaps 60%, then adding brightness gradually up the cactus.

[David Eckels]

Yes, Terry, I notice the halos and they have been driving me nuts! I am giving up on this particular set because I think they were imperfect captures. I can't remember if I left VR on even though I was using a tripod although shutter speeds were not particular slow and there's no mirror issues with the v2; if there's a way to see in the metadata, I'm all ears. The spines on the cactus seem to wreak havoc also with the capture sharpening in LR even though I used a 100% mask. I did use a color select for the sky to tone it down, but expanded the mask into the cactus by a bit. In any event, I am happy with the overall ambiance, but I need to shoot more and work through these issues. Good part is that at this stage, I can go out and shoot this again when conditions are right. The cactus are slightly darker towards the top (darker green) and I think this is somewhat exaggerated by my PP, which may also account for those very much wider halos. I also perhaps brought the lower mid-tones up too high so the relative difference is increased. My take is that this is a fuzzy execution of a good concept. Appreciate the comments.

[David Eckels]

Something new, but along the same lines. Shot with my D800E, hand held. The Desert Botanical Garden in Scottsdale AZ is worth a visit.

[armand]

Something new, but along the same lines. Shot with my D800E, hand held. The Desert Botanical Garden in Scottsdale AZ is worth a visit.

I second that recommendation, and I like the shots also. I wonder it they are the same as this one