This year I’ve consciously tried to use my telephoto lens more in an attempt to find a more minimalist approach. When I saw this scene for me it was all about the arc of the dune and the golden light hitting the wind blown crest. I exposed this shot so that highlights were low key and that the shadows had little detail.
What technical feedback would you like if any?
I’m in two minds about discarding this image as the foreground in the lower right is out of focus and when I look at this image I wish I had taken the time to focus stack. Is the shallow DOF a deal breaker for you?
What artistic feedback would you like if any?
anything
Pertinent technical details or techniques:
(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)
271mm, f11, ISO400, 1/500 sec
If you would like your image to be eligible for a feature on the NPN Instagram (@NaturePhotoNet), add the tag ‘ig’ and leave your Instagram username below.
@nathankleinphotos
You may only download this image to demonstrate post-processing techniques.
3 Likes
Nathan, I see this image as being all about the glowing rim of sand with the subtle line in the dune adding interest. With the extra glow along the lower right, I don’t think the foreground softness matters. It’s at least somewhat disguised by the glow. The glowing arc of light is terrific. Without know how easy/hard it is to get back, a focus stack would be an interesting comparison, albeit with some possible challenges due to the blowing sand.
I agree with Mark Seaver that the beautiful glowing arc is the subject of this image. The foreground softness is no problem for me. It is a pity that the left and right edges of the rim are soft as well (probably caused by the blowing sand), because the rim is where the attention goes to.
Maybe I’d crop a little tighter, I think I can do without the bottom 10% or so of the image.
Nathan, doing long telephoto abstract landscape work has been my choice for many years, so needless to say this has loads of appeal to me. Less is more almost always is effective. Your rim light and low key are very effective together. I personally would not even have considered going to the trouble of focus stacking here. Might have been worth it for normal daylight and higher contrast conditions, but for me the darker mood effectively conveys the simplicity of the story quite well.
Nathan,
This is wonderful! Great use of the long lens btw. The impact, the rim lighting, blowing sand, shadow and light, all play beautifully here. I think all this trumps the technical flaw (maybe it’s intentional?) of the softness of the rim as you get away from center. Looks pretty sharp with good detail from the center, moving a little right, then starts to soften. You would think at the longer distance your dof would be better. But I’m with Mark, I don’t think it matters too much. The light and the story carry the image. The rim lighting is fabulous, as is the blowing sand. I also like the patterns on the dune face.
Personal preference of course, but I could see bumping up the contrast just a bit; I think you have room to bring up that light on the rim (of course you mentioned you kept it “low key” so perhaps more light isn’t in the cards. Works beautifully as presented.
Lon
Hello Nathan,
This is a beautiful image! I also don’t think that the shallow depth of field is a big issue. In fact I think it adds to the mood of this image.
Hey there Nate,
Not to be a dissenter but I took a very similar photo to this (possibly in the same place?) and had the same DoF issues. I personally chose not to use mine because the softness bothered me. I certainly wouldn’t fault you for going forward with it though, it’s a really cool image!
Really great light and scene and the OOF does not bother me at all.
Nathan: the contrast of the golden light and the dark sky make a wonderful image. The oof area is of no concern. Congrats! Richard
Thanks for your input @Mark_Seaver, @Han_Schutten, @Bill_Leggett, @Lon_Overacker, @sigfrido_zimmermann, @Harley_Goldman, @Richard_Sandor sometimes as we’re processing images I think we can be a bit too close to the image to be objective about perceived technical flaws. Thanks for the reassurance that the foreground isn’t a deal breaker.
@Brent_Clark I can imagine you have a similar image. I was standing next to you when I shot this!
I’ve had a few days to think about the DOF and I’m not certain that the softness is actually from a shallow DOF. The crest of the dune was about 10-15 yards from where I shot and this image was made at F11. I’m not an expert on lens but shouldn’t this offer enough of a focus plane for the whole crest to be sharp? Perhaps the softness is from a greater amount of sand being blown off the dune in the foreground.
I tried Lon’s idea about posting the highlights. I think it’s an improvement. Thanks Lon!
I agree that the softness isn’t that bothersome to me. The rim light is the subject and having everything in focus wouldn’t be my concern. To answer your DoF question; the DoF at that focal is very thin, here’s a screenshot from a fantastic app called TrueDoF
You basically have 5’ in focus at f/11. At f/22 you get about 11’ in focus, but of course you will have a fair amount of difraction and you’d have to raise your ISO to freeze the grains of sand and you will still probably not get it all in focus. Always trade offs to be made. Of course focus stacking is ideal, but in these conditions the moment may be fleeting and what you created is the absolute best outcome given the conditions.
1 Like
I think increasing the contrast helps. DoF is slightly bothersome on the left but not a big deal.
Thanks @David_Kingham that DOF app is useful. My 100-400mm lens goes up to F32 at that focal length but even then I may have only got an extra about a foot of extra depth of field by closing the aperture.
Shallow depth of field seems to part of the challenge with telephoto shooting. I remember this scene as fleeting so I probably couldn’t have focus stacked. Thanks for the feedback.
1 Like
I agree with this feedback 100%. I don’t think the foreground softness is a problem at all, it is not the main subject. My eye goes to the arc of light. If anything, I’d make that more pronounced, darken the foreground a tad, and find a way to brighten the arc. Super shot dude.
1 Like
Super Nathan. Didn’t even notice the softness. All that I noticed was the arc of light and blowing sand. Very cool minimalist shot.
