Mule Ears

[Jeff Parker]

Mule Ears Peaks in Big Bend National Park, Texas

Canon 5D, 28 to 135mm @112mm, 1/3 sec, f/36, ISO 200

[Harold Davis]

i like the sidelight, jeff. also like the cactus in the foreground. i might completely crop out the ones on the left. will provide a much cleaner frame edge and simplify the scene a bit. i like the placement of the mule ears in the frame.

too bad about the skies. i think a GND filter would have helped here.

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hi Jeff,
Very good assesment by Harold. I think the left cactus does take a bit away so cropping it out is the way to go. The split ND filter would have also allowed you to open up the FG some more while adding a bit more detail to the sky. I hand hold the large Singh Ray ones in front of the lens but many manufacturers make quality one that are a bit more reasonable price wise. Very good investment for landscapes.

[Jeff Parker]

Thanks for the input. I like the cactus on the left. I feel like it frames the mountains. The filter is something I've thought about. I guess in that case you would have to exclude the left side cactus, because the filter would darken the top pad.

I haven't done much landscape work, as I like wildlife. Landscape turned out to be harder than I thought!:)

[Ed Cordes]

I also think the sky needs a bit more interest. Would a shadow/highlight layer help? The cactus are OK with me, but need more contrast.

[Harold Davis]

jeff, the hitech gnd's are awesome!!! get yourself two of the 3 stops. i think they were less the $70 a piece. that's a heck of a good price for the quality!!!

[Dave Mills]

Hi Jeff, As mentioned, good light with interesting terrain. Agree with others regarding cactus on the left. My reasoning is it starts to take dominance and keeps pulling the eye away from your center of interest. The foreground cactus are part of the flow...