Are the shoe marks distracting?
Sony A7rII, Canon 11-24
SunnySraPhotography
Lovely image, Sunny, I think the overall composition with the parallel ridges is very strong and you have a good layered balance from foreground to skyline. I am not bothered by the footprints the least bit, and placing them in such a powerful position, they seem to be an open invitation to explore the dunes, and the photo. They add a good element to the image . One of my first notes was that the glow along the sunlit ridge-lines might be a slightly too saturated, but it is great color tone. Regardless it would only be a very a minor point…you have filled the frame very nicely. I like the image very much.
Great photo and wonderful color Sunny. I love the lighting and the edges of the dunes. I see a lot of photos of no foot prints. I like them here because it is so mild and the empty vast desert dunes appears to have a time stamp into the photo as someone unknown has passed by. The placement of the foot prints is well placed so I am good with them there.
This has such nice color and quality of light. Yes the shoes can be somewhat distracting. They change the message of the image but not in an intentional manner. It’s not a story of a trek through the dunes but unintentional inclusion.
Sunny, my critique of this image is similar to the comments made by @Igor_Doncov. The light and color here are superb, and your processing draws out the richness of these wonderful conditions. But I agree with Igor about the footprints. The rest of the image is so strong that it makes the footprints look like an accidental inclusion, and thus a minor distraction. Even if you intended to include the foorprints to try to tell a story, the rest of the image is so powerful that it is hard to make the footprints a story that stand out. This of course is a matter of personal taste, but for me the footprints are just not strong enough to be considered a meaningful part of the story here.
A crop from the bottom to eliminate the nearest footprints may work for some folks, but that puts you close to a 50/50 horizon line. Both the clouds and landscape are strong enough that a 50/50 horizon may work, but that would be a matter of personal taste. I also think a crop from the bottom may work here because there is a lot of negative space in the lower right corner (LRC). A bottom crop would minimize both that negative space and the near footprints.
Great framing, Sunny. You’ve got some beautiful light working here. I do find the footprints a bit distracting and would would be inclined to try and clone and/or crop out. Purely personal taste but I would back off a bit on the saturation in the dune highlights. This is a great image and worth effort to tweak and take to a higher level.
Sunny,
Gorgeous dune and sky landscape from DV. Great colors - although my own personal taste I think the light (saturation) on the dunes is just a tad heavy. Of course well within personal choice and preferences. Can’t take away the beauty of that light on the field of dunes.
I don’t mind the footprints too much - you have at least included enough at the bottom to embrace their presence rather than it being an oversight that you didn’t notice at the time of capture… 
And to this point, I’m wondering if you captured an image further back to include more? No idea what it was like at the time, but potentially a nice lead-in. But certainly works well as presented. Would we like pure and clean sand? Of course - but then there’s reality too and you’ve done well in include.
This is also one of those images that takes the viewer right there - like I was standing on top of the dune witnessing all that was unfolding.
Lon
Really like the light and color, Sunny…and the footprints are not an issue for me, well done.
