“Under The Desert Moon”

My passion for photography started in my teens and later I became a studio photographer and an owner/operator of a photo-lab. Back then, I didn’t have a lot of composition know-how (other than portraiture). It wasn’t until my retirement that a friend's art career inspired me to do more with my photography, and soon the digital era didn't frighten me anymore and I began to love all the artistic aspects of photography. My friend is a life-long, professional fine artist who’s impressionistic art hangs on thousands of walls around the globe. We share the many of the same passions; hiking, biking, ATVing, RVing and travel photography and these passions took us all over western Canada and the US; it's during those shared activities that I honed in on the art of photography and composition (thanks to his help). We’ve often discussed “art”, the “art of photography”, and debated, "What constitutes it as art?". Nowadays, digital manipulation is (or can be) a large part of the photographic industry; and its controversial. Which leads me to the introduction of this photograph. Prior to this photo (Jan./2021), I never digitally altered my work, choosing instead to do only what a photo lab could do; I was a purist! In this photo though, I added the moon, BUT only after I considered how it affected the overall flow; the advantages and disadvantages; the moon is such a strong subject. It created a bullseye (or target), forcing the viewer's eye to the moon. As mentioned, a great deal of thought went into my decision to include the moon but in the end, I knew it would appeal to some viewers; perhaps you. This photo was taken at Granite Mountain, McDowell Sonoran Preserve (North Scottsdale, Arizona).