Namibia "Deadvlei"

[Kobus Tollig]

Canon 50D
10-22mm @ 14mm
1/20 sec, f/16
Mode: Av
Metering: Evaluative
Exp comp: +1 2/3
AEB comp: +1 2/3
ISO: 100
AF mode: One-shot AF
Drive: Single frame shooting
Self-timer: 2 secs
White balance: Auto
Flash: Off
All c&C welcome and appreciated

[Ramesh Adkoli]

Very nice composition, Kobus. I like the placement of both the tree trunks. Given the strong sun, the desert floor and dunes BG, i felt strong shadows/high contrast would have added to this image. IMHO, lack of that took away some punch from the photograph. TFS.

regards,
ramesh

[Morkel Erasmus]

love the comp and colours Kobus! nice textures on the floor and the tree trunks to keep interest. Ramesh's observation is interesting and I was peaked to see what some increased localised contrast will do to this.

did something REAL quick (hope you don't mind) and would love to hear what you think - that being said I'm not working on my calibrated monitor and might be misjudging something...

localised contrast enhancement: USM @ 25%, 40px
recovered some shadows from the hind tree
increased overall saturation by 10 points

[Kobus Tollig]

Thx for the comments guys appreciate it. Morkel it does look better thx

[Morkel Erasmus]

:) pleasure...

[Kyle Marie Barcelos]

Like the re post by Morkel, it really brought out those earth tone color more. Love how you got both trees in the frame, nice picture:)

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hi Kobus,
I like Morkels tweaks but for me the FG tree isn't working. Why???.....just dominates the overall scene and draws my attention from my real interest.....the smaller tree and the distant dunes. Perhaps a vert comp with the cracks leading to the lone tree and the dunes may have worked a bit better. Did you try any of those.....would be interesting to see them for comparison.

[Gerald_Gilligan]

Kobus,
Love the colors and texture...agree with Roman about the foreground tree...would love to see other compositions with a little more contrast from the ground...The isolated tree with the dunes leading you there would be ideal...I would like a little more sky as well...

Jerry

[David Kennedy]

Kobus,
I would agree that Morkel's suggested enhancement to the image is a great improvement to the image, but I would also say that you were wise not to over-do your post processing.

In part, I agree with Roman that the image feels very constrained due to the nature of the foreground tree and the way that it boxes in the viewer. At the same time, it is a different perspective from this Namibian "hot spot."