Speaking Of Sand Dunes...

[David Stephens]

Since we're on a roll, I thought that I'd post another from my trip to Sand Dunes National Park in Southern Colorado. This time, I'm shooting toward the sun to emphasize the dust in the air, the magnitude of the dunes. I was lucky to have another photographer up in the upper-right quadrant of the image, giving a great feeling of scale (at least to me, we'll see what you think):

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1465/25318183064_4848d47706_h.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/EzhiKE)Into The Sun and Sand (https://flic.kr/p/EzhiKE) by David Stephens (https://www.flickr.com/photos/dcstep/), on Flickr

Canon 7D MkII, EF 70-200mm f/4L IS, 127mm, Av Mode, ISO 200, -1-2/3EV, f/7.1, resulting in 1/1600-sec., hand held, with Raw conversion in DxO Optics Pro 10.5.4. (You definitely don't change lenses in this environment). I was carrying two bodies; the crop-sensor with this zoom and my full-frame with an ultra-wide.

[Diane Miller]

I love the layers here, and the dusty / hazy atmosphere. I might go to B/W (or sepia) with this one to remedy the greenish flare at the bottom center, and a less prominent one just above it.

I think the footprints add a nice touch here, especially with the ghostly figures. I'm not sure I care for the lighted area in the LL -- maybe if there were more of it....

[David Stephens]

I love the layers here, and the dusty / hazy atmosphere. I might go to B/W (or sepia) with this one to remedy the greenish flare at the bottom center, and a less prominent one just above it.

I think the footprints add a nice touch here, especially with the ghostly figures. I'm not sure I care for the lighted area in the LL -- maybe if there were more of it....

Thanks your well considered evaluation, Diane. I am indeed considering a B&W interpretation and cloning or cropping out that anomaly at LL.

[David Stephens]

I did a B&W interpretation at Diane's suggestion and I also cropped out a small incongruity at the lower left. I used FilmPack in DxO Optics Pro and chose a Rollie Ortho 25 imitation, after considering several others by Illford, Kodak, Agfa, etc. I thought that the Rollie interpretation gave the best range of grey to black and did the best job of showing the dust in the air. Compared to the color interpretation, I reduced Highlights a bit and upped Shadows a bit, but left levels otherwise unchanged:

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1603/25758258850_5b8f2725fe_h.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/FfaNXd)B&W Interpretation (https://flic.kr/p/FfaNXd) by David Stephens (https://www.flickr.com/photos/dcstep/), on Flickr

[Diane Miller]

I love it!!

[Adhika Lie]

Dang, Dave. The B&W is absolutely a keeper. I am not too big on the foot prints. I would probably even crop the bottom even more. I love the two photographers on the left and on the right and I feel the footprints kinda compete with them. But this is personal taste. It's beautiful as presented on the repost! :)

[David Stephens]

Dang, Dave. The B&W is absolutely a keeper. I am not too big on the foot prints. I would probably even crop the bottom even more. I love the two photographers on the left and on the right and I feel the footprints kinda compete with them. But this is personal taste. It's beautiful as presented on the repost! :)

That's a valid suggestion Adhika. My logic for leaving the footprints is that we see people on the dunes, so footprints tie in. OTOH, I was considering a "purist" or "minimalist" interpretation where I crop out the footprints and clone out the people on the left. I think that might emphasize the vastness of the dune and the smallness of the human left in the image. I'll see if I can whip that up later today.

BTW, the B&W interpretation ended up adding a little emphasis to the person at the upper right. Also, I think that B&W puts more emphasis on the sensuous curves of the dunes.

[David Stephens]

Another B&W interpretation.


Here, I'm going for a starker, more minimalist interpretation by cropping out the near-camera footprints and the people on the left of the image. This leave the lone figure at the upper right, yet preserves the sensuous curves, layers and feeling of depth, I think. What do you think?

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1564/26021971666_082e0fffaa_h.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/FDtpzU)B&W Interpretation 2 (https://flic.kr/p/FDtpzU) by David Stephens (https://www.flickr.com/photos/dcstep/), on Flickr

[Diane Miller]

Both work for me. In Pane 4 there is a tiny piece of one of the hikers on the left edge. I'd consider picking him up and moving him closer to the other one.

[David Stephens]

Both work for me. In Pane 4 there is a tiny piece of one of the hikers on the left edge. I'd consider picking him up and moving him closer to the other one.

Thanks Diane.

Now that I look at them on the same page, I feel like Panel 8 has a significant loss of depth. By zooming, via crop, our hiker is larger and the vastness of the dune, in comparison, is accordingly diminished. I prefer Pane 4, as is, overall. That extra layer, with a ridge parallel to the image's bottom frame, adds a foundation and significant depth, to my eye.

If I were going to print or sell this, I'd experiment with Adhika's idea further, perhaps cloning out the footprints and the people to the left. I'd print that interpretation and Pane 4, then decide after letting a few more people see the test prints. I don't have a strong preference, but I like to consider the reactions of others.

[Arthur Morris]

Much stronger with the crop from the bottom. I see that we first lost one and then two other humans :) But the crop from the left lost part of the pano beauty. Just eliminate the two on the left to create a winner. I like both the natural and the B&W. a

[Morkel Erasmus]

Great simplicity and scale here, especially evident in the mono version.
I'd go for the last version which eliminates the hikers. A single person speaks more about the solitude of the place than the pano perspective does, in my view.

[David Stephens]

Thank you Morkel, Artie and all others that contributed.

[Adhika Lie]

David, I love that interpretation #2 on Pane #8. And yeah, that lone photographer does make a difference. :)

[Don Railton]

Hi Dave, been away for the weekend so bit late here. What a Cracker of a shot..! absolutely love it. I think mono is the way to go and i am torn between #8 and #2. In #8 I like the repetition of form and that the single hiker is larger in the frame and hence the subject is the lone walker is a large desert. It's a simple shot in beautiful light that speaks volumes to me... In #2 I would like only the same single hiker visable but its slightly wider which i prefer as a better aspect for wide open spaces.. Dont like the footprints so much, prefer the simplicity.. I think I am going to change my mind, I prefer #8..

DON

[Andrew McLachlan]

I like both the color and B&W versions and also feel that the crop from the left takes away from the image. I would go with the crop from the bottom and remove the two people on the left. As Morkel mentions, one person gives it the scale and solitude required better than three...nice work David!