Taken in Death Valley in February 2023.
_DSC7140.ARW (81.7 MB)
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Markus, I love this image just as it is - all that golden light and the blowing backlit sand make this image a great story of wind in the desert and dunes of Death Valley. Of course, converting to black and white works as a different ‘take’ on the scene, but the color really suggests the time of day that the monochrome images does not do. I vote for it as it is! 
I love your edit and I think it does not need to be changed at all, but I really like the capture and wanted to try it out anyway.
One thing I prefer stylistically is a more red-yellow look to sand dunes rather than golden yellow so I changed color tones a bit. I opted for maybe a slightly lighter overall look and took away some of the contrast in the background just to give it more of a mystical feel. Other than that I liked the lens flare from the sun because I feel that it adds to the drama of the scene, and the branches in the foreground I understand removing but I personally actually like them there!
Again great image, what a dramatic scene!!
