Dunes at Death Valley

[Dave Mills]

I shot this a few years back at Death Valley. Running around trying to get as many compositions while the light lasted. A few things. Does it bother anyone that the rt side of the dune is slightly clipped and the shadow on the left. I strive for perfection and was wondering if any of these 2 factors are an issue..If I would have moved to the left I would have gotten more shadow.
Nikon D300,17-85mm,ISO 200,F22,1/15 tripod mtd

[dankearl]

Dave, nice lines, the shadow doesn't bother me, I think if you were about 5 steps forward with maybe a bit more glimpse of the mountains beyond and a bit more sky it would be better.

[Robert Amoruso]

I think it looks OK. I am not finding an issue at the edges Dave.

[Rachel Hollander]

Dave - the shadow on the lhs doesn't bother me but the thin shadow on the rhs, mid-frame just before the end of the first dune does bother me. Not sure what cast that shadow but it interupts the lines.

TFS,
Rachel

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Dave,
shadows don't bother me either....although I am betting the one Rachel mentions is another photographer:bg3:. I might want a bit more sky......but not much.

[Indranil Sircar]

Dave, the shadow does not bother me either. I like the fg pattern. Like Roman, I too would like just a bit more of the sky. Earlier this month, I was about to drive out to Death Valley and try some night photography... now I will have to wait till fall for the temperature to drop.

[Roger Clark]

Dave,

Personally, in my opinion, there are not enough shadows. The foreground shadow on the left, for example, is too close to the edge. The shadow, which is not a hard shadow, would then be a leading line into the distant dunes. The image currently has beautiful leading lines into the center of the image which has little form (but perhaps that is due to the small image size--does the full res image show the ripples all the way to the distant edge?). So perhaps I'm off base here not seeing the detail of the full resolution, but I think the shadow on the left is currently an intrusion. I would have moved a little left and use the shadow as a leading line. And perhaps move lower down. Or move right and completely exclude the shadow on the left. Hope I'm not being too extreme here.

Roger

[Dave Mills]

Hi Roger...not being too extreme at all... Let me address your points. First i could not have gotten lower due to my being a little above 3 ft from the sand shooting at F22. The hyperfocal distance wouldn't have allowed me to get closer and still be sharp throughout.
If I moved left the shadow ran along way so the foreground would have been fully or partially shaded. If I moved right I would have lost more of the distant dune. All the dunes are not rippled and I have images showing them both ways.

[Roger Clark]

Hi Roger...not being too extreme at all... Let me address your points. First i could not have gotten lower due to my being a little above 3 ft from the sand shooting at F22. The hyperfocal distance wouldn't have allowed me to get closer and still be sharp throughout.
If I moved left the shadow ran along way so the foreground would have been fully or partially shaded. If I moved right I would have lost more of the distant dune. All the dunes are not rippled and I have images showing them both ways.

Hi Dave,
This is a situation where I would have changed the camera to horizontal (landscape mode), and did a vertical mosaic, letting the focus move with each frame. That allows one to do a much larger depth of field.

Roger

[Judy Howle]

I like the composition and colors Dave. I didn't really notice the shadow on the right until it was pointed out but removing it might be an improvement.

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Dave, well seen and composed. love the leading lines.

[Harshad Barve]

Dave, well seen and composed. love the leading lines.

Plus one here
TFS

[Andrew McLachlan]

Hi Dave, I don't mind the shadows. I think the image is well composed and the right amount of sand, mountains and sky for my tastes. I think I would prefer it as horizontal as Roger mentions. Beautiful light on the dunes!