Any comments welcome.
Should I lose the black spots on the light dune?
(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)
D3100, 55-300mm @ 240mm; 1/640 sec; f/8; ISO 400
Bonnie: I love shooting dunes and the myriad of possibilities they provide for intriguing imagery. Since you asked I would definitely make the spots go away. They interrupt the flow of the ridge and make my eye stop and start. I do like the color contrasts. Nicely seen and captured. >=))>
Bonnie,
I think a terrific dune image. Actually it’s almost a mind-bender. It sure seems like your vantage point is elevated and you’re shooting down on the scene. I can’t quite figure out the transition from warm to cool in the sand - it keeps me thinking and wondering what I’m looking at.
I’m a bit torn on the spots along the ridge. Not sure, but I don’t think those are footprint leftovers, but perhaps plants. Looks like it might be tricky cloning all that and keeping a seamless ridge line. On the one hand, Bill’s comment makes sense. On the other hand, I think it’s rather organic and natural - after all, not all dune images have perfect lines… 
And the natural s-curve helps create a nice balance between the warm and cool tones.
Nicely seen and photographed.
Lon
Really nice abstract, Bonnie. I like the blue areas, it makes for a nicely balanced image and a good warm/cool thing. I am with Lon on the “spills” along the ridge line. I would be inclined to clone them out if possible. That said, looks excellent as presented.
Thank you @Harley_Goldman, @Lon_Overacker, and @Bill_Fach. I expect I can clone out the dark spots.
We’re going to DV (this is the Mesquite Dunes) week after next, and I plan to try the focus stacking technique to get shots like this sharp throughout (focus is a bit soft around the edges).
Bonnie, this view has a very organic feeling to it. The color contrasts and the textural contrast look great. I agree that a focus stack to get top-to-bottom sharpness would be a nice, subtle improvement.
