Frozen Dunes

Beautiful in all aspects as always Stan. Very dramatic conditions....in the photo as well

The contrast between the serenity in the "warm" dunes and the chaos in the cold mountains is great. I feel like this needs to be tilted clockwise a bit. You were leaning into the wind from your left, eh? It can be crazy trying to shoot in a strong wind. Maybe this is dead on level, but a horizontal horizon (pseudo horizon or actual) is a visual expectation of mine, and perhaps others. Alluvial plains (and reality) be damned. If this were my photograph I would be very happy to have been there. Later, in the windless comfort of my home, I would make a long, thin crop to "level" it and to remove much of the foreground.

Pete D. never gives credit for difficulty and is sometimes berated for that

It looks a bit crooked to me too, Pete--and in the 50 mph winds i wasnt checking the level too carefullly, hey what can i tell you. As for difficulty, you're right, next time im draggin you up there with me so you can appreciate it more

Bodacious! I totally like the sense of action here, especially with your description added.

Wonderful light on your dunes Stan. I also like the sky drama and dark mountains in the background. Works for me.

I have never seen them look like this. Like some kind of sedimentary rock. Crazy, but so cool. The brown/palette is beautiful. The warm light and the clouds draped over the peaks take this one to another level. Kudos for the effort here as well!

It's a very dramatic landscape, Stan, and matched with some very dramatic conditions. I especially like the layers of warm and cool colors.

Will
Edmonton, Alberta
Canada

Very cool image Stan, with wonderful light quality. I just endured that same wind in Death Valley at Mesquite Dunes. Let's say my camera decided that it had enough. It's back at Canon now.

Thanks! Morris--you're right, it was really weird--the sand literally turned into sandstone, at least for that day!
Miles--my AF was about done already before this shoot--i bet im due for a service myself!

Awesome light Stan,

Sometimes what we planned doesn't turn out and nature springs a surprise on us. Creativity and Technique aren't enough to make great images you have to be a little lucky too. Looks like you got all three covered.

Paul

Nice one Stan! I like the textures in the foreground and the forms in the mid-ground. The color temperature contrast between the dunes and the mountains/sky is great too.

The sand in the fg looks crunchy-frozen. But I don't get the same sense from the dunes farther out- as to being "...some crazy wind-sculpted frozen sand sculptures." Maybe use of telephoto for some shots would have captured the "sculpture" part better... But I do enjoy the drama of light and weather that is very apparent in this wide landscape view! Perhaps a bit much of blue sky. Overall, another fine shot.

Without your description I would have thought the foreground was stone.

Amazing stuff Stan. The light and the frozen dunes are beautiful.

Sweet shot Stan!

The side lighting is golden Stan! I'd suggest cropping some off the right for better balance and to put the fg texture into the bottom third. Everything else is just perfect.

So the foreground IS sand dunes? Wow, very cool. Great image, love the layers of light. These are the dunes near Blanca?

This is beautiful light, and I love the colors. The brown/gold and blue look so good together. Clouds look fantastic too. You really captured some great conditions here, Stan. Foreground sand looks like stone to me also. Really nice work under hard conditions. I don't get the feeling that this needs any rotation.

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

The frozen wind sculpted ice/sand formations on GSD are some of the coolest things I've ever witnessed. It reminds me of the water/wind sculpted sandstone on the Colorado Plateau but rather than taking centuries to sculpt, it takes hours and is only there for a fleeting moment. As you stated in the RMNP forum, shooting in these temps with this wind is some of the toughest shooting ever, but the reward is there for those willing to endure as you've shown here. Great warm light and love the cloud covered SDCs. Also a great addition to you're overwhelming dune collection!

Very cool! Those frozen dune formations up front really make this one new and exciting. Now, I think you should have shot this in a belly shirt and a thong, then put it up on You-Tube!!!!!! Your turn!

Chris

Spectacular lighting! Is the foreground rock (fossilized dune) or frozen sand? I could stare at this for days.

What a lovely dunes! Great light you have here. The foreground feels a little busy for the scene, but otherwise it's beautiful!

Hard to believe that is sand in the foreground...looks like crumbly sandstone. Sounds like you had a pretty crazy and memorable experience. You again did the Dunes justice!

Amazing image, Stan. Another mood of these dunes that only you can capture. Outstanding.

Gnarly conditions Stan. The processing looks great and like Jared said this makes a great addition to your portfolio on these dunes. My only suggestion is to slightly burn down the ULC as it is a little bright and empty there. Also, as a side note, I am really digging the light in the clouds spilling into the scene on the right side. Very kewl!

Michael

Sweet, Stan. I can never get enough of these dunes and mountain shots of yours. The contrast of soft curves in contrast to rough rocks works so well. Together with the flat light this is a great recipe for good images.
This shot in particular is a very good one. The shot looked a little rotated CCW but that can just be the character of the landscape - I can't know that. My personal taste would add just a bit more magenta/red to the sky to lessen the cyan look a little and enhance the contrast towards the yellow sand. Composition-wise the empty ULC isn't the best, but I assume that you are as little of a shaman as I am and so that's none of our business anyways.
Ah yeah - I guess you took care of the few dust bunnies up there meanwhile ;)

Thanks, folks!
Andreas--i just noticed those darn spots myself before i saw your comment. The resizing really brings those buggers out cause i didnt see them on the original. Surprised there werent more actually, since i changed lenses a few times up there and even though i tried to blaock any wind, the sand was pretty much penetrating everything.

Pretty dang cool! The frozen foreground is quite unique. I really like your black and white scene that you posted on RMNP. Can't wait to see what that does on here.

I like the contrast between warm and cool colors. The cloud blanking the peak adds mood to the photo.