Badlands: A Little Softer Now

[Arlen]

Not all of the peaks and valleys of the South Dakota Badlands are sharply angled and forbidding, as portrayed in the last image I posted. Some sections exhibit a softer, curvier side of a still-stark landscape. The whole area is a geologic wonderland.

[RoyH]

Arlen,

I like this image a lot. One comment though, my eyes are immediately pulled down to the small clump of yellow flowers at the bottom, the brightest color in the image.  I would be interested to see if others are affected by this. I wonder if a slightly tighter crop would allow the viewer to focus on the rest of this beautiful scene without the distraction of the yellow flowers. Or it could just be me... :-)

Roy

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

The flowers didn't bother me.
This looks more like what I remember of my one glimpse passing through many years ago in a bus.
I like it.

[John Koerner]

I only noticed the yellow flowers after something was said.

My eyes were delighted by the soft, pastel colors which had a very pleasing, calming effect, prompting me to click the image and take a look at the textures and colors of the landscape.

If the purpose of an image is to coax the viewer to stop, look closer, and go away feeling that it was very much worth his while to take the time to do so ... then ... well done.

[Jens Peermann]

An unusual but pleasant color harmony. Very nice!

[Paulo Bizarro]

Wonderful and serene. Erosion at work. As for the flowers, I think they distract a bit, not so much because of the colour (the reds are stronger in the rocks), but because they intrude into the scene. They seem to be cut through the middle, so either include or exclude them fully?

[stamper]

Arlen,

I like this image a lot. One comment though, my eyes are immediately pulled down to the small clump of yellow flowers at the bottom, the brightest color in the image.  I would be interested to see if others are affected by this. I wonder if a slightly tighter crop would allow the viewer to focus on the rest of this beautiful scene without the distraction of the yellow flowers. Or it could just be me... :-)

Roy

Nothing personal but I think you are nitpicking? There isn't such a thing as a "perfect" image and looking for small faults will mean that one or two, or more, will be found? If the rest of the image is to your liking then the faults should be ignored and the image should be judged a success. Personally I think it is a success and deserves unstinting praise.

[RoyH]

Nothing personal but I think you are nitpicking? There isn't such a thing as a "perfect" image and looking for small faults will mean that one or two, or more, will be found? If the rest of the image is to your liking then the faults should be ignored and the image should be judged a success. Personally I think it is a success and deserves unstinting praise.

No offense taken... Nitpicking, sure. It is an beautiful image and one I would be proud to have taken. But I can't denied the fact that my eyes get drawn toward that bunch of yellow flowers, no manner how small in the overall image they are. Can I ignore them and enjoy the beautiful image, absolutely.

[thierrylegros396]

An unusual but pleasant color harmony. Very nice!

Really Nice.

Thierry

[francois]

Nice, like a cassata ice-cream!

[Arlen]

Thanks to each of you for your helpful feedback.

Concerning the yellow flowers: I'm usually pretty sensitive to light-toned areas near an image border. They tend to catch my eye, and that prompts me to consider whether they are adding something or are instead an unwanted distraction towards the periphery. In this case the flowers weren't prominent enough to draw my attention, and considering it now, it's not a big issue for me. But I can see that cropping a little tighter at the bottom might be an improvement.

Stamper, I'm often in agreement with you about "nitpicking", but the comments here really don't bother me. They seemed to be offered respectfully, in the spirit of trying to help make a good image a little better.

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

But I can see that cropping a little tighter at the bottom might be an improvement.

Don't let Russ hear you say that!

[Rajan Parrikar]

That is one delicious location. I would have 'cropped' in lens (thus inoculating myself from Russ's wrath) by going longer.

[Arlen]