Results 1 to 11 of 11

Thread: Dunes On Fire

  1. #1
    BPN Viewer
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Belmont, CA
    Posts
    80
    Threads
    24
    Thank You Posts

    Default Dunes On Fire

    Attached Images Attached Images
     
    Here is another shot from my Death Valley set. Shot the same day as my "Twilight Dunes" image (but 50 minutes earlier), this shows how light and shadow completely change a mood. Here the shot is all about contrast and warm tones. As I was working my way through the dunes (careful not to walk into any potential compositions and track up the sand), I fell in love with this foreground.

    Canon 5D MkII
    1/20 sec @ f/16, ISO 100
    17-40mm f/4 @ 24mm
    Added foreground contrast and darkened the mountains and sky slightly

  2. #2
    Forum Participant
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    southeast Michigan
    Posts
    2,846
    Threads
    208
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Wow, this is beautiful. Very nicely photographed and processed. The detail, color, and contrast in the foreground are to die for, and I like how the ridges recede into the shadow. It's nice that you brought back the sky a bit because it contrasts nicely with the warmth of the rest of the image.

  3. #3
    Banned
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Colorado
    Posts
    3,949
    Threads
    254
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Hello Hank,
    I love this image and the shadows at all levels (looks like about 70 degrees phase angle). I think the image would also work well without the mountains and sky at the top. Very nicely done either way.

    Roger

  4. #4
    Robert Amoruso
    Guest

    Default

    Hank,

    Nicely executed. Great FG put to maximum impact with the large DOF. I like the mountains in the BG too - very craggy and rough looking - contrasting well with the smooth lines of the dunes.

  5. #5
    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    NYC
    Posts
    14,320
    Threads
    929
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Hank - this is great. It all works - the textures, comp, inclusion of the bit of sky. Well done!

    TFS,
    Rachel

  6. #6
    BPN Viewer
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    Johannesburg - South Africa
    Posts
    2,114
    Threads
    190
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Fantastic composition, love the patterns of the sand and also like the mountains in the BG but would have loved to see a little more sky TFS

  7. #7
    BPN Member Morkel Erasmus's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Location
    South Africa
    Posts
    14,858
    Threads
    1,235
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Attached Images Attached Images
     
    Just eye candy, Hank!!
    Is there any way to get more detail and deeper blues from the sliver of sky you have?

    Love the leading lines...can see this working very well in B&W too...something like this?? WDYT?
    (you need to tweak red, yellow and cyan here to get the right play of darks/lights)

    Obviously IQ would be better if done from the high-res TIFF or the RAW...
    Morkel Erasmus

    WEBSITE


  8. #8
    BPN Viewer
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Belmont, CA
    Posts
    80
    Threads
    24
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Attached Images Attached Images
     
    Thanks for the suggestion, Morkel. I've darkened the sky slightly and brought back a bit of the blue (levels adjustment on just the sky and tweaked the blue channel slightly). I also added a touch of global contrast, adding a little more drama throughout the photo (on further review, I felt the mid-ground was a little too flat). I certainly did some B&W conversions from that day, and I do think this one holds up well for B&W because of the foreground lines, but I got such a screaming red off the dunes I just couldn't bring myself to do it. :-) That is the beauty of digital though - we get to play and play and play....

    Vivaldo - my general rule for sky inclusion / exclusion (and this can be generally applied to any landscape element) is "if it doesn't add to the image, cut it out". This helps me to really emphasize what drew me to the subject in the first place. In this case, the sky really wasn't interesting and didn't add to the photo, so I included very little of it. I wanted just a bit to frame the distant mountains and give the dunes a sense of place. The real subject here is the foreground dune pattern, which is why it takes up a full 3/4 of the photo.

    Thanks all for the feedback and comments!
    Last edited by Hank Christensen; 05-03-2012 at 12:53 AM.

  9. #9
    Lifetime Member Jay Gould's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    In the whole wide world!
    Posts
    2,788
    Threads
    332
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Hank, I am with you on the color; I have a lot of trouble taking an image to the dark side. I know I should make the jump and experiment; I am sitting on one Morkel suggested I do in BW.

    Your RP takes it up several notches; well done.
    Cheers, Jay

    My Digital Art - "Nature Interpreted" - can now be view at http://www.luvntravlnphotography.com

    "Nature Interpreted" - Photography begins with your mind and eyes, and ends with an image representing your vision and your reality of the captured scene; photography exceeds the camera sensor's limitations. Capturing and Processing landscapes and seascapes allows me to express my vision and reality of Nature.

  10. #10
    BPN Viewer
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    South Africa
    Posts
    562
    Threads
    51
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Bit late to the party here but , phenomenal image and composition. The repost rocks here and colour version is a winner :)

  11. #11
    BPN Member Morkel Erasmus's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Location
    South Africa
    Posts
    14,858
    Threads
    1,235
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Your repost sure rocks, Hank...just what it needed
    Morkel Erasmus

    WEBSITE


Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Web Analytics