~Ocotillo At Sundown~

~Backlight Study~

This image may take some explaining! It was photographed about an hour before sundown. The hill behind the ocotillo is about a quarter mile away and bathed in shadow, the effect was intentional, a dark background and a backlit foreground. I'm actually looking down into a small canyon from up on another hill. I've been noticing this scene for several months now, just planning my location on the overlook and what time of day is best suited for my image. I call this time consuming part of my photography "stalking my subject". Sometimes it can be the most fun part of the image making process for me. The thinking and planning, the angles and colors, what backgrounds and foregrounds, the best time of day and the best time of year. All the time thinking about what the image will look like, what I want the final outcome to impart to the viewer. This is pre-visualizing, the joy of this activity is part of why I photograph. Sometimes it pays off and sometimes it turns into an exercise in futility! But I always learn something, something to use in my next "stalking"!

Thanks for looking, TucsonJim ;o)


Edit: If you make this image big, just under the far left ocotillo branch is a desert creature watching me work the scene, its a White Tail Deer!
Hello there little buddy ;o)