This is a blend of 2 shots. The first is a long exposure taken after sunset for the sand and the glow that was given by the setting sun. Then a second taken shortly thereafter for the sky.
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(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)
My word I like this. This is very evocative. . .
Greg, this was a great idea to create a more unusual type of sand dune image. Pairing the post sunset glow on the dunes with the stars in the sky makes for a very compelling image. The processing of both the dunes and the sky looks good to me. I especially like the glow on the background mountain to the left. My only suggestion for improvement might be a slight crop from the bottom, to me most of the interest light and compositional elements in this image are in the top 50% to 60%. i think a crop from the bottom would place even more emphasis on the wonderful glow on the dunes.
Thanks @Ed_McGuirk. I played with that in the 2x3 format to take out the bottom horizontal section. But it left the shot a little lopsided, especially when I try to get that left side glow in. I will play with it some more and try a 16x9 format ?
Greg,
Wow, this is outstanding! I would say even ethereal or certainly evocative as David commented.
First, itâs a terrific composition with the main dunes (and all those layers) being framed on either side by the mountains and topped off with a great night sky. Youâve balanced the light beautifully as well. I mentioned the layering and with that bottom layer, I wouldnât crop because that starts the layering, and also helps to create the nice depth presented here.
Beautiful dune image made even better with the starry sky. Great work!
Lon
Greg, this is a dreamy image, some beautiful creamy mid-tones from the post sunset shot. I would be in the crop camp thoughâŚthere is plenty of layering with light, shadows and ridges, I would take it above the first diagonal, the lower left would start with plently of soft light to allow the viewer inside. and work through the image. Looks like some Moon and Mars images we see from NASA. Well done.
Thanks @Lon_Overacker. I am going back and forth on the crop. Cropping is a valid point. I do like the layered look of no crop and when I cropped it, the only crop that allowed me to keep the balance was a 16x9 crop. I have to admit I have vary rarely used a 16x9 crop. But I will have to revisit it. Thanks for the input.
Thanks @Stephen_Stanton. If I crop it that is where I would crop it. I am still on the fence though.
Thanks for the input.
I do understand the desire to crop the portion of the picture that has little fascinating detail in it, but the weight of that sand in front, to me adds mass and helps to add depth to the picture. . . I love the balance as is. . .from within me. . . the blended, unseen, uncountable grains of sand directly in front of me. . .leading to lofty dune heights and eventually launching to the vastly more distant and crisply un-numberable stars above and beyond me. . . The somber darkened rocky outcrops, surrounding, silently overlooking which birthed this sand standing watch in the shadows. . . The cosmology of the stars, looking down, whose ancestors in long eons past died in nova and in their violent deaths, birthed all the elements which make up our rocky earth and indeed all our solar system. . . this is majestic to me. . . I could go on. . . these are the feelings which arise in me looking at this. . . I truly love this picture.
This is lovely, and I especially like the color palette, which is unusual dunescapes. I donât have much to add to what has been said above.
I thought I would cast one more vote for a slight crop off the bottom. I think this is 2:3 aspect ratio? I might try a 12x20 to include much of the dark area of the first âvalleyâ to just get read of the not terribly sharp area right in front of the camera. To me, this fills the frame with more dynamic lines and makes the dunes see bigger. Vastness I get from the sky, so I donât need as much context in the foreground.
Of course, itâs great either way, so itâs really creative decision for you.
ML
Wrong picture uploaded
Thanks @David_Stokely. I can tell that you really like this picture. That is the utmost flattery to see that you have delved into all aspects of the shot.
Thanks @Alain_Briot for the input. I am one that is definitely not against warping. I like the idea actually. But if I did warp I probably wouldnât warp the bottom layer. I think the bottom warp looks a little unnatural? And it draws my eye back too much. But I will check out the one warp. Thanks again.
I wasnât trying to make it look natural. I just wanted to make it look interesting. Intriguing too.
Thanks @David_Stokely, @Ed_McGuirk, @Lon_Overacker, @Stephen_Stanton, @David_Stokely, @Marylynne_Diggs, @Alain_Briot> I decided to go with the cropped version. As mentioned by several that lower diagonal was basically a distraction. Thanks everyone for the input.
