Prickly Pear

[Mark Nadler]

Slightly hyped.  Comments welcomed.

[David Eckels]

Interesting take; I like it. Hype doesn't bother me. We call those Mickey Mouse cactus 

[degrub]

i would shift the colour of the green grasses in the immediate area to a duller green so they don't distract from the hype.

[Mark Nadler]

David, thanks for your comment.

degrub, I agree with your comment on the green grass.  I tried correcting it on the attached image. 

I also cropped it a bit differently.

Additional comments are welcomed.

mark

[Bob_B]

The second one is very appealing.

[MattBurt]

Lots of character in that thing. I like it. Our prickly pear don't get tall like that.

[Mark Nadler]

Bob_B and MattBurt, thanks for your comments.

I can't seem to stop playing with this image.  Attached is another version.

[degrub]

the weather is not wintry enough....

[Mark Nadler]

degrub, I agree with you.

mark

[David Eckels]

Just go to PS beta and type prickly pear cactus in winter in a grassy field 

[Mark Nadler]

David, I was just about to reverse my surrender to degrub after I looked at your great images of snow covered cactus.  Of course, I did take my picture in Oahu -- Hawaii does get significant snow in certain parts of the island.  But thank you for for saving me.  Actually, when I develop images I'm always looking for color combinations that I find attractive with little concern for replicating reality exactly.  I can do this because I am an artist who uses a camera and not a photographer.

mark 

[degrub]

my comment was about the grayness  of the grasses - all dead, typical of drought or winter. The light/clouds did not reflect that reality 

[David Eckels]

David, I was just about to reverse my surrender to degrub after I looked at your great images of snow covered cactus.  Of course, I did take my picture in Oahu -- Hawaii does get significant snow in certain parts of the island.  But thank you for for saving me.  Actually, when I develop images I'm always looking for color combinations that I find attractive with little concern for replicating reality exactly.  I can do this because I am an artist who uses a camera and not a photographer.

mark

😁

[David Eckels]

Mark, the latest version has a feeling about it that speaks of something like death, but more ominous   I actually like it very much. The treatment of the grass, for me, is just right. The color in the cactus is a bit exaggerated, but here, as they die the color gets more intense and the wrinkling is more pronounced. Not being a smart ass: I think this version is less than photographic, but more importantly, it is artistic! So, thanks for letting us see it; hope my comments were helpful.

[francois]

Interesting variations. I like the idea and the results. I'm with David on the last version (less photo and more artistic).
Thanks, Mark.

[Mark Nadler]

David and francois, thanks for your comments.  It's funny with certain things that we try to create and struggle with completing it because we really don't know what it is.  The second and third versions of this image contain ideas I wanted to express.  However, for some reason this image still feels incomplete. 

mark

[David Eckels]

BW? Vignette? Crop it?    I know, not helpful. I had a tree, an Arizona juniper, like that. Couldn't put my finger on why it fascinated me. Since it was close to my house, I kept shooting it over and over and finally an image came along that seemed to satisfy. For now.