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Dave Mills
04-19-2009, 10:48 AM
When you go to the Dunes at Death Valley(May-time of year I shot this) you generally have 45min or so of the sweet light after sun up. You have more time to shoot than that but the sun rises quickly. So I run around like a maniac trying to grab as many compositions as possible. The image shown I keep wondering about and I would like other opinions. Is the contrast between the shaded and sunlit areas too much. Does the lit bush carry it?
Nikon D200, 24-120 Wide Angle, F22 ,1/250, 2 stop split nd filter, ISO 300, tripod mtd.

Rocky Sharwell
04-19-2009, 11:45 AM
I do not care for the position of line between the shaded and unshaded areas. I think the image would be much stronger if cropped to include just the sunlit area.

I wonder what the image would have looked like if you had gotten really low as if on your belly.

Dennis "Curly" Buchner
04-19-2009, 03:38 PM
Dave I like the image as it really has great layers and textures. The cool sand texture goes horizontal, then the warm layer texture goes vertical then going to smooth.

I like the balance of the image going cool to warm to cool.

The tree gives your eye a place to start then explore the sun and sand image.

Roman Kurywczak
04-19-2009, 06:27 PM
Hey Dave,
Honest answer......not sure! I'm not totally fond of the split in the tones of cool and warm. I know you aren't afraid of PP corrections......so here's an idea or 2. In the re-post.........I dodged parts of the bush(burning bush!), did a screen layer(30%opacity) to the lower 1/2 to bring up the shadowed area a bit in tonal value, added contrast to that 1/2, and finally cropped. I do like it more.....but the straight shadow line still bothers me. Maybe feathering it?

Dave Mills
04-19-2009, 06:37 PM
Hey Roman... I guess what was bothering me was the abruptness of change in the lighting. There are certain elements in the image I liked(lit bush and backround) but as you pointed out a need for a more subtle blend. The small crop on the left tightened it a bit...

Robert Amoruso
04-20-2009, 11:55 AM
Actually, the change in contrast from FG to BG does not bother me as much as the others. I just don't like the bush. It is not very interesting. I think the most interesting part of the image is the sunlit part, the shadows on the dunes, the lines in the sand, the distant mountains and the clouds.

Rich Ikerd
04-20-2009, 02:32 PM
I really like the layers in the image Dave. The bush would have been perfect if were evenly lit, but having the shadows split it detracts more from the image than it adds.

Mark Fuge
04-26-2009, 10:08 AM
Nice shot, like the colors and texture of the sands. Congratulations on the theme win.

Make A Great Day!

Mark