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This was taken at Petroglyph National Monument outside of Albuquerque. I stopped there on my way to Santa Fe in November and walked the loop trail. I wanted to have the foreground I focus with all of the trail oof. I used a slight layer of Oil Paint.:S3:
The layer of oil paint is very effective! Great composition with the detailed lines of the front bush and the oil paint lines that lead you into the trail and beyond. I think you captured the essence of this dry, barren landscape very well. I like the sturdy rocks on the left anchoring the image and keeping your eye from just blowing away with the wind.
Good job in achieving a shallow dof. The foreground bush is the first thing I notice. Then I follow the trail to the sky. I like the processing you did. Love the colors and shapes of the out of focus areas. The sky pulls me a bit too much, and seems to much of a contrast to the subtlety of the rest of the landscape. Maybe less texture on it? Unlike Nancy, I find the rocks on the left distracting me from the front bush. I would crop them out. But, that is just my point of view.
Interesting DoF, enhanced by the texture on the background rocks. Agree with reducing the strength of the texture in the sky, maybe a slight crop to reduce it's size would also help? The lighter rock on the left is a bit of a distraction, perhaps cloning it out would allow the dark rock to be more subtle.
I like the leading line of the path. After reading other comments I think I agree about reduced OP texture in the sky, and I think Randall had a good idea about the whitish rock in the fg. I do like your chosen fstop though. :bg3:
I really like the large bush in the foreground as a compositional element, and the shallow depth of field is very effective. I'm a fan of the foreground rocks, too. There's a great sense of depth in the image, and I like the colors. The oil paint effect adds good texture to the earth and is very subtle there. However, I'd mask it out of the sky entirely because it seems inconsistent with the blur that goes along with the reduced depth of field. In the past, I've liked what you've done with paths, and this is no exception.
The brush in the fg catches your attention. One's eye is led down the trail to the horizon. The rocks keep you on the trail. IMHO the texture works on the terra firma but not the sky.
