Thank you jeanbug and RaymonH.

Like i said the tenacity of life...the flower that grows thru cracks in the sidewalk, the pine growing out of a bowl like depression in a boulder. Tree roots seem to be the only rival of water in finging the slightest spaces to move thru...

ratzthree, if i offended you with my remark about focus i do apologize...it was not a 'criticism'...it was merely a distraction to MY eye. i think the comments made by others made a good deal of sense except for the 'too blue'ones. As a person who has lived in areas where low pollution levels mean a more natural sky (often VERY blue) i was tempted to ask what color folks expected the sky to be and were they suggesting you tampered with mother nature's pallette.
The picture is a good start, play with the subjects till you get one you like enough to not if anyone else thinks its 'good'. The sky will be there, the tree will likely be there till some windstorms topples, you will get a new cast of clouds on a frequent basis (depending on your locale)...so have fun with it.

Let it go fella...

Thank you, Leatherhelmets, Nparianius, and Mallardo.
Linda, this was taken at Veedawoo in SE Wyoming...lots...sometimes the roots have cleaved the rock into peices and weather will erode it away. But i've seen several that seem to have reached a symbiotic appearance like this one.

Lovely shots of the birds. The details very clear.

i prefer the 2nd in part because i find the branch on which that Chickadee perches a very visually interesting piece of wood...the colors and curving lines of it...i'd be playing with it in edit to isolate some of those patterns. But that's just my somewhat skewed perceptions.

Actually i have several similar shots because to me they speak of the tenacity of life...

If i did not consider it an art i would have no interest in photographing anything but family and pets as keepsakes and maybe objects for insurance purposes, i would not even try to capture the intrigueing and beautiful sights nature has to offer. When still in HS (back in the early 60's) i had a huge 'debate' with an English teacher about it, he stated flatly it was NOT an art...and we were off...i was able to make some points due to two art photographer friends, one of whom's work he'd seen, and my familiarity with professionals who practiced it as an art to get him to concede my point if not whole heartedly agree.

Presumptions in anything are as risky as assumptions.
The Nimbus clouds are a good deal more distant than the branches, there's a thing called depth of field? From the original post my understanding is that the equipment was pretty basic...and unlikely to have that great a depth of field. But i won't debate it with you...i only know how it appeared to me and my comment as valid as the 'too blue' which i consider a matter of 'taste' some people like a lot of blue. i moved to current home because it affords me a 'big sky' i get more blue than that nearly every day.

i'm familiar with Nimbus clouds as well as other formations...when i look up at them here they are much sharper than that however thin the wispy tendrils may be.
Unless i've taken my glasses off...

Composition leaves something to be desired for my taste and the higher wispier clouds are not as 'in focus' as the lower left one...

But a good start...and i'm with kaz about definition of a photographer...but for a photographer to be an artist that has nothing to do with specifics of equipment or technical jargon...it is in the 'vision', the eye for an image that evokes a feeling...(as all good art of any form does).

Thanks Rich and Bunny...
Picture 2 is 'unedits'...i would if posting on the gallery crop it.
Picture 1 is not technically a 'picture', but an image produced by laying the objects directly on my scanner, so no easy way to adjust focus. don't have the patience to do the 'botanical' scannography i saw on some sites when i did a search... but here's one that was done by layering different thin 'papers' and a sticker with an Emerson quote i like

Experiment

Thank you Larry and St3v3M

Lovely shots...i live in northern NM and have at least 3 varieties of cacti on my land (as well as yucca,sage and other indigenous flora) The blossoms are stunning but also the changes in the cacti themselves throughout the year.

i'm taking up the barbed wire from internal fences around the place but consider the prolific cacti an excellent home protection device...

i joined on 2/10/13 and sometime this week the info under my 'avatar' switched to saying i was a regular here instead of 'new' so i figured i should introduce myself at least a little.
i'm retired from 'employment'. Made a leap of faith and building wings on the way...so far, so good.

i've written poetry since my teens and viewed photography as an art (as well as useful tool for observing family dynamics and personalities) since then too. Was blessed in my late teens, early 20's to know a couple of gifted photographers (one was also a sculptor and went the art path, the other went into journalistic photos...artfully done.) Both gave me tips that helped me develop my own 'vision' and more often capture what i want the way i want.

i was in the 3rd training group ever of VISTA (now AmeriCorps) and an activist back in the day. Got a BA in psych in '94, but life interrupted yet again before i could get counseling degree. But it's served me well.

Have also been experimenting with Scanography...was doing so for months before learning many others were too and it had an actual name...The first image below is a scanograph.

Shells


Silver Linings