Thanks for your replies, Cem & Asher. I greatly appreciate it.
The photo has always bugged me a little, and I do agree with Asher's comment. I think it's just a little too much detail in one composition. Not sure about the cyan cast - it's never bugged me before until you pointed it out, Cem. Thanks for that
j/k The cast isn't nearly as noticeable in the print.
But I hang onto it as one of my favorites because of what it means to other people. I post my shots from Big Bend on a forum for fans of Big Bend (
http://www.bigbendchat.com). When I posted that photo on the forum about a year ago, it received a lot of feedback (the emotional type; that forum isn't a photography forum), and I got several requests for prints from members of that forum.
I'm not trying to prove that it's a good photo (maybe so, maybe not - it's up to the viewer), but I want to point out the value of a photo, generally speaking, versus the quality of a photo.
To the Big Bend fans, seeing that photo is much like you seeing a bad photo of a beloved family member. You will treasure that photo despite bad lighting, poor composition, softness, etc. (i.e. it's not a good quality photo).
This is something that I miss often in my own photography. I often don't take a shot because the light isn't right or I can't work out the composition that I want. But given the right audience (particularly non-photographer types), any shot of subject X will be of some value to them.
I guess where I'm going with this is to
know your audience. From my experience with Big Bend and the fans of Big Bend, they will connect better with a well executed snapshot than a world class fine art photo.
-------------------------------------------------------
I've been out and busy with work and dealing with the damage that hurricane Ike left us here in Houston. I've finally had a chance to process and upload some of my photos from our recent trip to Big Bend (which was 1 week before Ike hit us).
The composition I originally posted is one that first I shot four years ago. I decided that I'd shoot the same composition each time I visited that place, and in several years time, I'd have an interesting collection of photos of the same scene shot at different times and seasons. So far, I've been up there four times.
So, just for fun, here's nearly the same shot taken earlier this month during our recent trip:
Of course I shoot in many other spots while I'm at it
Here's a new composition from the same location: