Great Sand Dunes/ Gunnison

[chris_wadleigh]

I will have a half day at Great Sand Dunes and a half day at Black Canyon of

the Gunnison National Parks in late September.I know it's not much time but I

want to make the most of it. Are there any areas I shouldn't miss and what

time of day (early or late) would be best for each? Thank you for any

suggestions. Chris.

[mike hardeman]

Great Sand Dunes takes a good deal of effort. You can't hope to shoot the Dunes with less than 3 hours. Dawn is best, but to shoot them, you have to cross the wash (if there is water in it), and hike about a mile to get away from footprints. Evening is more problematic as you're generally looking west for most shots there.

[mcgarity]

You can easily spend a great deal more than 3 hours in shooting the Great Sand Dunes National Park. And you can walk till your feet fall off. But neither is mandatory. I shot this image in mid afternoon five minutes after I arrived.

 

http://www.photo.net/photo/3240984

[kathywilson]

You can get some good shots of the dunes from the moment you arrive, but it's also true you'll get better by hiking in, and that will take you far longer than the time you have allowed. Also, by late September it's possible there will be snow (not 100%, but definitely possible) and the Sand Dunes covered in snow look like anything else covered in snow. Trust me. The Gunnison will offer easier opportunity to get a lot of different shots, purely because once you're in it, you're in it, and you won't need a lot of time to get deeply into it on foot. Having seen the dunes, I'd probably spend more time at the BC - it's not as familiar a photographic sight for others.

[alex_lofquist]

If you are going to the Black Canyon from the Dunes area devote a little time to Wolf Creek Pass that is on your way. Beautiful!

[rconey]

the Black Canyon is tough to photograph since it is so narrow and deep- I think it is as deep as it is wide. In early morning or late afternoon it will be too dark down in the canyon. Maybe aim for 10-12 and 4 to 6PM. Great place- we have been to the bottom a couple of times.

[les_barstow]

Tell me at least that you've got two different days scheduled... Sand Dunes to Black Canyon is a multi-hour journey - my guess would be ~4 hours.

 

For the Sand Dunes, you'll want to take some time walking just to get away from the footprints. You can do okay with a < 1hr. walk if you don't want panoramics from the top of High Dune; I suggest walking upstream for morning shots or downstream for afternoon. You'll want to be in place well before sunset or stay till well after sunrise to get a variety of lighting angles. I like sunset for pictures, but I've also seen some great sunrise images. BTW, there's no creek this year - it never made it down to the parking lot - but it's still a hard sandy hike into the dunes.

 

For Black Canyon, you might actually pray for a light dusting of snow. The canyon is very, very deep and not terribly wide, and the rock is very dark. Morning lighting is probably better for most overlooks, but Tomichi Point is definitely an afternoon lighting location. This is a very difficult location to photograph, but if you get good results they can be stunning.

[chris_wadleigh]

Yes, Les,I will be at the locations on two different days.

Thank you all for the help.

[les_barstow]

PS - be sure to stop by and see the Rocky Mountain Nature Photographers .net display at the dunes visitor center.