The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
This past March I had an opportunity to visit Death Valley, what an amazing place! I’ve tried to rescue this image as I noticed a flaw after the fact. It seems as though either the wind or something with the shutter was causing frames to shift ever so slightly (a few pixels) but it appears as a blurry wave rolling through the image. Really frustrating and I still haven’t figured out exactly why it happened. It looks fine smaller like this but I’m not confident I could make a larger version look right.
Specific Feedback
I’m really curious about the composition and the processing. Those of you who have been probably know how overwhelming it can be at first. It feels like you can point your camera anywhere and come up with something, even though that is so not true!
Very lovely!! But you are not giving yourself enough credit for a very nice composition. Yes, these dunes look spectacular – until you try to find a good frame. You found a very intriguing one here, and I love the colors and tonalities. Doing a screen scroll, I’m intrigued by the look if I crop about the top third – maybe a twofer here.
I’m curious about the flaw you mention. The only thing I can see is a slightly OOF look in the coarser waves on the center of the left edge, and maybe in the LL corner. Heat waves should affect the entire image and it doesn’t look like blowing sand, which might occur on only part of the image.
This is very fine, David! The gentle curves are lovely, as is the color. I love the one warmer dune in the background. I don’t see any weirdness in the ripples at this size, but I’ve noticed a similar thing in some of my dune photos. This crop feels right to me - don’t think I would crop at all. Lovely!
Hello @David_Wallace, this is a beautiful image! The composition is lovely. I wouldn’t do anything to it in terms of composition.
I also took a look at the LLC and the area you described in the middle, looking for the distortion. The LLC is pretty obvious. (I’ve seen that in one of my images and wasn’t sure what caused it.) Have you tried using content-aware fill in Photoshop to fix the LLC distortion (lasso the area, then use content-aware fill)? It might work well. Also, if you printed this on canvas instead of paper, the slight distortion in the middle might not show at all. Canvas can be pretty forgiving.
Hi David, I’m late to the party as usual, but I saw your image on the front page and just had to comment on the beautiful work you did capturing this image and processing it. I do see the waviness in the LL corner, although it doesnt really distract from the full image unless you are looking for it.
I love both the shape of the dunes and the warm color of the background dune. The LLC is a bit weird. Is it like that straight out of camera? I guess the only way to get rid of it would be to crop or try content aware fill.
Yes, the sand dunes can be very overwhelming because there is so much going on. I prefer the telephoto shots and tight crops like this versus wide-angle compositions, especially since the skies tend to be quite clear there. Wide-angle are great if you get low to the sand and let the windblown lines in the sand draw your eye into the frame.
I love this one, David. For lack of a better term, it’s sensuous. The mostly cool tones are nicely contrasted with the subtle warmer hues. I enjoy how some of the dunes are heavily rippled and others appear smooth. I’d love to see this one printed large on metal. Gorgeous!
@Diane_Miller Thank you so much for the kind words. They were not heat waves, thats for sure. It was only about 50-60 degrees out there, cooler than I had anticipated.
@Susanna_Euston I have no clue what caused it, pretty frustrating though. I would love to go back for a “do over” of sorts but no clue when that will be. I’ve used content aware fill or then new gen fill for small areas, I feel like I’d have too many pixels and it wouldn’t feel like my image any more.
@robertakayne Thank you! I really enjoy the image but can’t seem to get past the technical flaws in it to put it up there with my better images. On one hand it is really satisfying that I was able to make some quality images out there, but left me wanting more because of the flaws.
@kyle Thanks man. Most of my better images were with the 100-400 for sure. Wide angle out there requires a different mind set and I find it hard to flip back and forth too much. I did try some wide angle shots but wasn’t really thrilled with them.
@Bret_Edge I love that! When I see a really good image from the dunes it feels almost musical, hard to describe but they just work, the smooth flowing lines…it feels like a good jazz song!
I would say it likely isn’t thermal mixing because it’s in only parts of the image, but it doesn’t necessarily take heat to do it. Microscopic water droplets in the air combined with thermal currents rising from warmer ground can do this at any temperature. The CA coast is notorious for it. It’s also common when shooting out an open window from a vehicle or house, where the outside temp is cooler and warmer air is pouring out.
But for me, the image is so cool that I just don’t see ANY technical flaws!!
David your capture is truly a testament to the beauty that lies in simplicity and the natural gradients of the earth. The interplay of light and shadow across these sand dunes creates a visual rhythm that’s almost musical. The subtle shifts in color from cool to warm tones give this image a serene, yet dynamic quality that really holds the viewer’s gaze.
