Dunes

LarryD · March 6, 2013

Early morning light casts shadows into the ridges and valleys at Mesquite Dunes, Death Valley

Dunes by LarryD Imagery, on Flickr

Stumblebum · March 7, 2013

That's a great shot! I have been there. Somehow you found a sweet spot where there are no foot prints. Awesome! The dark areas are not too dark....very even! Good one!

JC · March 7, 2013

Something seems odd about this image, like a cartoon, to me at least. I was wondering if it was just the jpg compression, so i went to your flickr page, but it's still there in the largest sizes. The foreground is super duper sharp, but the midground looks super smooth, like an old school computer generated dune image, and the mountains in the distance seem artificially detailed, mountains that blue, I expect a lot of scattered light and a loss of detail, and more fadeing of the mountains into the sky- the little details that give the sense of distance, especially since the mid-ground is so smooth. what kind of processing did you do? Like some of your other images from the trip, this just looks super surreal to me, beyond just enhancement. The framing is very nice, I'd like to see the original image without all the post-processing.

Stumblebum · March 7, 2013

kolibri wrote: »

Something seems odd about this image, like a cartoon, to me at least. I was wondering if it was just the jpg compression, so i went to your flickr page, but it's still there in the largest sizes. The foreground is super duper sharp, but the midground looks super smooth, like an old school computer generated dune image, and the mountains in the distance seem artificially detailed, mountains that blue, I expect a lot of scattered light and a loss of detail, and more fadeing of the mountains into the sky- the little details that give the sense of distance, especially since the mid-ground is so smooth. what kind of processing did you do? Like some of your other images from the trip, this just looks super surreal to me, beyond just enhancement. The framing is very nice, I'd like to see the original image without all the post-processing.

He probably used a zoom lens. That would keep the details in mountains in background as well. Its a clear morning, and no haze...or you can point away from the haze.

LarryD · March 7, 2013

kolibri wrote: »

Something seems odd about this image, like a cartoon, to me at least. I was wondering if it was just the jpg compression, so i went to your flickr page, but it's still there in the largest sizes. The foreground is super duper sharp, but the midground looks super smooth, like an old school computer generated dune image, and the mountains in the distance seem artificially detailed, mountains that blue, I expect a lot of scattered light and a loss of detail, and more fadeing of the mountains into the sky- the little details that give the sense of distance, especially since the mid-ground is so smooth. what kind of processing did you do? Like some of your other images from the trip, this just looks super surreal to me, beyond just enhancement. The framing is very nice, I'd like to see the original image without all the post-processing.

There is nothing particular about the processing, no photoshppping and no artificial smoothing of the sand.. It's a simple raw image with normal, standard processing done. Canon 1DsII, F11, ISO100, 70mm, CPL, at around 7am in the morning looking north.. It's a pile of sand... the contours are only on the fairly flat areas that are somewhat protected from the elements... the sand dunes in the back have no features or contours.. The mountains in the back are about 30 miles away...

Here is another (I have hundreds) taken from around the same spot but several months apart, looking more west (different mountain range in the back, much closer).. This one is a different camera (1dIII), and a 24-70mm at 43mm, f11, 1/400, no CPL, and normal processing...

The important part to me is the near contour feature, so focus is there and not so much in the distance.

Star Dune by LarryD Imagery, on Flickr

kdog · March 7, 2013

Smoking composition, Larry.

Flikr says you shot this yesterday, true? I was there yesterday as well. Wasn't it nice that we had a windstorm on Tuesday night to smooth over the footprints? I spent a couple of hours walking around with a long lens looking for abstracts and occasionally wishing I had a wider lens as well. This shot isn't helping.

jsrucci · March 7, 2013

kdog wrote: »

Smoking composition, Larry.

Flikr says you shot this yesterday, true? I was there yesterday as well. Wasn't it nice that we had a windstorm on Tuesday night to smooth over the footprints? I spent a couple of hours walking around with a long lens looking for abstracts and occasionally wishing I had a wider lens as well. This shot isn't helping.

I'm so jealous of you guys being out there. My wife and I were out there last June and loved it....

Nice shots, BTW. When we were there, I didn't get to spend much time in the dunes, just a few shots on the way out

LarryD · March 7, 2013

kdog wrote: »

Smoking composition, Larry.

Flikr says you shot this yesterday, true? I was there yesterday as well. Wasn't it nice that we had a windstorm on Tuesday night to smooth over the footprints? I spent a couple of hours walking around with a long lens looking for abstracts and occasionally wishing I had a wider lens as well. This shot isn't helping.

I'll be out in the Valley again tomorrow, but up the road towards Scotty's Castle.. Hoping to find some wildflowers.. However, the weather says that it may rain...

Rain is great for the Dunes and cleans up the footprints.. In the winter you need to walk out about 45 minutes to get to some sand that isn't tramples - unless you get a good rain or wind..

I did take a shot of the trampled Dunes before that 45 minute walk.. It was blowing too hard and raining this day to head over yonder...

Across Mesquite Dune by LarryD Imagery, on Flickr