kwalsh Offline Buy and Sell: On
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Wow, thanks for all the very kind words! I was really trying to get a different perspective with these shots, dunes are so popular to shoot and I have a number of more conventional images from the past. I've always been blown away (sometimes intimidated even) by the talent displayed in this forum so the positive feedback is very meaningful.
Before my trip I was trying to think of what to do at the dunes and I realized one of the most amazing things about the Eureka dunes is their setting. I'd seen the dunes from some mountain vantage points in the past (which were very long hikes) so with Google Earth I checked the mining roads in the area and found an accessible (4WD) area that appeared to have some good views, foreground and most importantly would be about at right angles to the twilight glow. That's the origin of the first shot, I ended up changing my schedule and had to race a bit to get there in time but still had about 20 minutes to spare.
The second shot was actually done earlier in the afternoon down at the dunes (hence the race into the mountains). To be honest I was at the end of a long trip, had already taken a day off and was feeling a bit frustrated. I drove around a bit evaluating where the light was and was going to be and decided to explore the southern dunes for sunset. I started the long walk across the eastern apron of the dunes, and this sucks (constantly breaking through the upper crust and into animal burrows) - had trouble envisioning doing it in the dark on the way back. Thought more and decided if I actually went into the southern dunes I'd likely get "just another dune shot" - this was a great rationalization to save myself walking further. I think I stood their a good ten minutes fighting with myself in the middle of nowhere slightly pissed off. I was staring at the back side of the tallest part of the dunes (not where I was planning on going), probably 2 miles from where I stood and noticed that at this distance the huge scale of the dunes and the lighting was producing some soft curves and shadows. Seemed different from the normal razor edge close up curves of most dune photos so I shot a few very telephoto frames (400mm eqv. FL) and used that as an excuse to start walking back to the truck, changed my itinerary on the spot and raced for the mountains to take shot one that I had originally intended for the next day. I thought I had gotten something, but it wasn't until PP after my trip that I realized I really liked it.
Happy to share some technical details...
Both images:
Panasonic G1 w/45-200
Linear polarizer
Processed in Lightroom 2.5
Split tone is an attempt at a Platinum look (mod'd TLR preset)
1st image:
- Shot about 15 minutes after sunset, clear skies
- Tripod mounted, about 6 sec exposure
- Vantage point is in the mountains north of the Dunes near Lead Peak
- Some work with black point, contrast, etc. in LR
- Grayscale mixer tweaks to enhance shadows and dunes
- Gradient local edit to contrast and clarity to reduce aerial haze in distant parts
- The surreal lighting is on account of deep twilight, I love to shoot then
- I fought with this in color for awhile until I realized B&W was the answer
- You're right on the halo, I've corrected but not updated online yet - thanks!
- Lots of detail, looks nice even bigger.
2nd image:
- Shot a few hours before sunset, very thin clouds in some parts of sky, hand held.
- Not a lot of processing, mild adjustments to tone controls to keep contrast controlled.
- I think I might have even used a bit of negative clarity on this
- Grayscale controls to reduce sky contrast and match dune tones
- Shot with polarizer, but actually undid most polarizer effects in PP!
- This softer, high-key type of shot is very new for me, I'll look for more in the future!
Well, that was way longer than I intended! Again, thanks for the feedback. I will post more from the trip, but perhaps they won't live up to these. Happy to answer any specific questions.
Ken
Edited on Nov 21, 2009 at 08:03 PM · View previous versions
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