Great Sand Dunes NP- Inspired

[Loose Canon]

It gives me great pleasure to mention that the Inspiration (if there is any in this post) for this came directly from Miss TerriB (Terri) who has posted without question the coolest rendering of this place that I have seen.

I found that I was going to be in the area (in fact drove right by it) on my way to somewhere else. So on my return through I had to make a special stop to see what she was talking about. Her shot was that good.

Mine isn’t but this place is Magic.

Thank you Terri! I owe you a Debt of Gratitude.

[ShaneS]

The person in the foreground really adds scale to this image Terry. I love the lines of the sand but I can't decide whether the clouds distract or add to the image...

Have you tried a mono conversion?

I was so inspired by both this image and Terri's that I even searched the location of the park. Did you have a chance to explore more with the camera?

[Shadowman]

Nicely captured.

[IzzieK]

Very nice Terry ... though the composition is good with the included person in it, it is the colour of the sand that seems to bother me. The sky is OK if the sand looks lighter rusty colour instead of brownish? Maybe B/W will be more appropriate?

[John 2]

A nice comp on the diagonal Terry, the figure is spot on and it's colour for me but I agree with Izzie. There seems to be a blue cast which has cooled the brown in the sand. Have you PP'd this at all? IMHO it just needs warming up a bit.

[Loose Canon]

Hey guys!

Thank you for the feedback.

I have a mono but Wifey-Poo/Art Director likes the color better because of the sky! The balance in this shot was “correct” (whatever that is!) in the light but I’m starting to agree with you guys about warming the sand. I went with WP/AD because she wants a book made out of a few of the vacation shots. Happy Wife-Happy Life and all you know!

Shane I returned to this place but unfortunately only had one day at it. We came in to have a look and scout it in the mid morning. For once I had a chance to come back at the right time of day, which is late afternoon. In the AM there is no shadow due, of course, to the sun being too high. It takes on a whole new look with the sun lower and raking across the dunes. I felt lucky to have the somewhat dramatic sky for the one day I was there.

[deetheturk]

Very nice Terry, I have always wanted to take a shot like this, well done!

David

[bnnrcn]

Very nice shot Terry I would prefer a less cloudy sky to put the emphasis more on the man and dunes but we can not tell mother nature what to do, can we ?

[Stagecoach]

Very good Terry, the inclusion of the human really adds to it.

[Loose Canon]

Continued thanks guys.

Binnur I defer to your preference.

What would that be?

Clear sky? Less drama? I’m not sure how a less interesting element might add?

The shot could be cropped to say, a 16:9? Less foreground, less sky? Change the sky? The weather patterns in this place are what caused it to exist.

What would you do if you shot this?

[FootLoose]

I love it, well done, Terry. I like the cloudy sky, and I don't know what colour the sand is there but it looks just fine to me.

[bnnrcn]

I would try cropping from the top and from left to eliminate some of the sky Terry

Continued thanks guys.

Binnur I defer to your preference.

What would that be?

Clear sky? Less drama? I’m not sure how a less interesting element might add?

The shot could be cropped to say, a 16:9? Less foreground, less sky? Change the sky? The weather patterns in this place are what caused it to exist.

What would you do if you shot this?

[Loose Canon]

Okay thanks Binnur.

I'll give it a shot and see how I go.

[bnnrcn]

Again me Terry I have another idea which might be better than cropping because sand dunes look lovely as they are . If you apply noise reduction selectively only to the sky with a strength level of 7 , by turning down the 'preserve details ' and 'sharpen details' sliders to zero and reducing color noise at about %70, this would give you a soft sky with less details and the sky wouldn't be competing with the sand dunes then