The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
This was taken at the Great Sand Dunes National Park on a very windy day. My brother and I had to take turns acting as wind breaks so the other could shoot and not get our cameras sandblasted. The late afternoon light highlighted the ripples in the sand and you can actually see the sand being blown across the dune.
Specific Feedback
Any comments and suggestion would be great. I’d be interested specifically on composition and processing. I chose this composition because I like thought it looked like there was a flow down the frame and liked the visual of the sand blowing across the image, as well as the shifting of color/lighting from full sun to shadow. I didn’t do any sharpening as the blowing sand already makes the image look “pixelated” and the curved sand ripples really don’t sharpen anyway.
Technical Details
Canon 5D mark II, 24-105mm @ 24mm, f16, 1/160 sec, ISO 200
This is lovely!! The blowing sand is creating a wonderful “filter” effect and the transition from light to shadow adds a very interesting element to the ripples. Excellent seeing and presentation!
I am surprised you were able to be out in that weather. It reminds me of when I was stationed at the Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, MS. Some 40 years ago. The sand storms there were awful. I didn’t realize you shouldn’t drive in a sand storm. My brand new car’s air filter was as heavy as a cinder building block.
Anyway, I like the image and your courage. Knowing how flying sand can invade anything with the smallest of openings I probably wouldn’t have risked my equipment not mention my body.
Really lovely, Scott. I like the diagonal ripples and the sand blowing across it. I know what you mean about grains having a tendency to look pixelated. I had to toss a dozen images from this location 15 years ago because the light reflected off dozens of grains and processing was not up to the task of removing them.
I’m with John in the upper-right corner. On one hand, I like the recession into nothingness, and perhaps that’s your intention for that part of the image. On the other hand, I keep getting pulled to the nothingness (I’ve always been a bit of an existentialist). I’m not sure that is your intention, but if it is, it’s working for me!
I have to say, when I first saw the thumbnail, I thought this was Ice with snow blowing over the top of it. I think it’s the bluish tones that gave me that feeling.
I love the leading lines coming out of the LRC and the LLC converging in the middle and the sand blowing across the scene. I like the luminance of this as is and I love the blueish tones throughout. I would crop to remove the URC and some of the bottom of the frame and make this a pano. Something like this:
Love this! Outstanding! Kudos not only for you to brave the elements, but to put your camera through it!
The comp works really well - I get the feeling of infinity where the image/sand drifts off… forever. and to the point of the URC and detail, I think that infinity effect is helped by the little detail there. In fact, if you cropped a strip off the top (same, but to lesser effect along top left edge), you lose that feeling; at least a little bit.
What was just as striking to me and really makes this stand out is the grain - quite literally like exagerated grains of sand. Add the cool, blue tones and this just comes together beautifully.
Scott, the textures fading into the upper right look great, and then you add in the blowing sand to make it awesome. Braving the elements makes for some great stories and unusual photos.
Thank you @Marylynne_Diggs , @David_Haynes , @GEGJr , @Mark_Seaver , @Lon_Overacker , and @Don_Peters for your thoughtful suggestions. I reposted with a top and left side crop to keep the proportions the same and eliminate the bright featureless area in the URC. It was an interesting shoot. At the highest winds I sat down in the sand, all huddled up, and about 20 feet away there was this feature in the sand and in one of my rare instances of patience, or maybe not wanting to get sand blasted, I sat there for about 20 minutes and watched as the wind slowly eroded the feature, until it disappeared into the dune. This is what it looked like when I first sat down.
This image looks very serene compared to what I’m sure it felt like being there. Kudos to you for braving the elements! The crop in the repost helps balance the image out, so that was a good call. I love the color grading and the texture in the image.
Thanks Lynsie. Aside from the wind, it was quite nice, no one else around, the golden hour light was beautiful, the good company of my brother, and getting to do photography!
Hi Scott,
I am loving this and I think your rework with the suggested tweaks have taken an already wonderful image up another notch. The blue and white tones work beautifully together and the blowing horizontal sand steaks make this a truly unique image. I also like the way the diagonal placement of the sand ripples draw the viewer into this scene. You are a braver man than I to take your camera gear out in conditions like this. It’s always fun; and helpful; to have your brother with you on photography trips as I can attest. This is beautifully done.
Great texture from my viewpoint. I’ve done photo shoots at White Sands in New Mexico, and half of them look like snow fields. The blue/lavender color, the sharpness of the sand curves and the light coming in from the left make it unique and attractive.
