Critique please

[easty1]

I'm having to deal with the harsh mid day Australian sun so any suggestions how to combat the bright light/dark shadows during or post capture will be most helpfull ,also any other critiques of the shot will be most helpfull (I'm here to learn so don't hold back)

sony a200
focal length 28mm
f number f/11
exp 1/160
lens minolta AF 28-80

[RecceDen]

I like the colors you have here. But the dead tree in the middle distance, for me is in the wrong place. Im only new in photography but for me Id change the angle of the shot so it conforms with the rule of thirds more.

There is also a small sharp shadow in the bottom left hand corner that is a slight distraction.

Other than that as said I like the colors. Done well in strong daylight.

RD

[Kate Howells]

I think you have done well under the light conditions. Sometimes it is not possible to get there when the light is ideal, so we just have to work with what we've got.
Your exposure looks fine on my screen. Landscapes are not my area of speciality, so this is very much a personal opinion.

Just a few things which I noticed :
You have a couple of dust bunnies on the top left, which are easy to get rid of in PS.
Comp wise, your subject is very central. I would prefer to move the bright aloes over to the right a bit. This will also allow you to loose the lone aloe on the far right which draws the eye.
I like the angle you have achieved.

[theArchitect]

Looks like you've got some dust on your sensor as there are some dark spots in the sky.

For this image you could clone them out but you'll probably want to clean the sensor before your next shoot.

[easty1]

Thanks for the suggestions I've cropped the shadow out which also decentralises the bayob tree and I think this improves the overall shot

[Solarian]

I don't understand the obsession with manual. I only use manual if my camera isn't metering the way that I want it to, otherwise I stick it in aperture priority and let it figure it out. You'd only really need manual for night shots, or shots with a drastic difference in lighting between different parts of the photo.
If you're putting your camera on manual, setting your aperture, and then changing your shutter speed to what your camera says is correct exposure, you're basically in aperture priority mode, but you're wasting a few seconds changing your shutter speed. It's like manual focusing until you hear the "in focus" beep. Might as well use autofocus.