Photographer And His Shadow

The photographer is such a small part in this small slice of the landscape.

That and the general form of the shadowed depression amid the golden

sand drew me to a photograph. Comments and suggestions are

appreciated. Thanks.

Steve, i like this one a lot. The long shadow of the photographer is just great, and he is obviously intent on hi smission. My only thought is that removing or cropping out the top RHS bit of sand may strengthen the image.

Jeff, good point -- thanks.  I've always been "uneasy" about that trench that heads out of the top of the photo, and your crop would solve that.

I cut out that bit of sand in the upper right corner as Jeff suggested, and I like the result much better.  I cropped 3:2 from the lower right corner.  It even puts the photographer in a better position within the frame, IMO.  It will take a day or so for the revision to make its way through the system.  The original (or close to it -- I decreased the overall exposure in processing, but erased it when I made the recent edit) is attached for comparison.

Nice work.  Well designed.  Very sharp.  Learning.  Best Regards,

A well-thought-out composition with the SP-touch. Absolutely great.

Stephen, good use of shape, contrast, gradations and scale, all create a strong image, I am looking forward to visiting the USA next year to take images of these wonderful places.

Brilliant shot...

nige image and good example os scale and shape.the lead lines take the to the photographer.i also love the suttle colours of sand dunes

Impressive. Reminds me my trip in Death Valley

Stephen, that looks wonderful...

Steve, that looks a lot better.

I like the simple composition and color contrast. The curve creates a smooth visual transition.

Interesting composition, the person and his shadow make the image. You did a very good job, cropping out the top part. 

Cheers.

Bela

I think this is your best among these 4 sand sudes.  Best Regards,

A really interesting shot!  I do like the cropped version better.  I wonder if you would indulge me......  :-) As unique as that v-formation is in the sand, can you tell me if you would like the idea of cropping from the bottom way up just so that you don't see any of the sand on the bottom right?  This creates a very yin-yang light/dark diagonal through the image, and it focuses the attention more on the lone figure.  Anyway, it's already really cool as it is, and I know my suggestion is another image.  But see if you like the idea.  Thinking I was probably way off base on this, I called my husband in and asked his opinion.  When I put up a paper to cover the bottom, he liked it better (a non-photographer, mind you!)  :-) 

Christal, I made the crop you suggested, and it is attached.  I agree it's a different photo.  People will have their own opinions, but I personally like the non-cropped version.  I think it's because the "pit" is not as open-ended, that it has a definite dimension, and that the terminus is retained on the left.  Others may prefer the cropped version that is more simple, having an upper half of sand and a lower half of shaded gully, with a line separating the two running diagonally across the photo.  Perhaps others will chime in.

Note: I might do some more cropping to get the photographer away from the middle; that was probably a strong consideration when I made the original photo.  But don't let the placement of the photographer affect you opinion; I think that could be addressed.

One additional note:  I try to do as much cropping as I can in-camera, simply to be able to print larger if I choose to print.  I'm working on a print of two of these sand dune photos at the moment.

I think in order for my idea to work, the left side also needs to be cropped so that the angle of light and dark enters the LL corner.  I realize that makes an unneven division of light and dark, but then all you see is the figure and the chasm, which IMO is the story here.  Don't get me wrong, I really love your image, and I'm not even convinced I like my idea better.  But I kind of like the idea of not seeing the entire context.  It seems to amplify the idea of the lone figure standing over an abyss (well, not exactly an abyss....but it certainly conjures up an 'alone with the world' feeling).  Anyway, thanks for giving the idea some consideration.  It is certainly a great capture. 

Christal, in the majority of landscapes one can find more one photo in a single click of the shutter (IMO), and it's all based on cropping. As I said, I made only the single crop, but it would really need more crops for aesthetic reasons and to preserve a desired aspect ratio (I like to follow standard ratios simply to make printing and framing easier, even if a photo never gets printed or framed). I'll bet that if I had had a longer telephoto lens on the camera at the time, I would have ended up with a photo just as you describe, straight from the camera; the diagonal line across the frame would have appealed to me.

I went back to the original and made a 3:2 crop showing how I likely would have made the composition. It is attached. My main goal was to place the photographer in the "right" place. I usually don't like to have a boundary line coming straight out of a corner, so I offset it just a bit in favor of more shadow. I'll bet this is closer to what you had in mind. I like it.

You have worked the subtle element so well here. The person adds value to your composition. Wonderfully done!

Yes, this is exactly what I had in mind, and I like it too.  I understand what you're staying about using a standard aspect ratio.  I've only printed a few of my images, and I've had trouble with sizing.  I realize that it's because I just randomly size my images to my liking.  I obviously need a lot more experience with this.   And yes, I think it's much better to not have the separation between light and dark exactly in the LL corner.  I like it as you have it.

Stunningly beautiful shapes and colours. Keeping the lower sand - as in your present crop - is essential, in my humble view.

Bengt, thanks for your comment.  Keeping the lower sand is also my preference, but it was a good exercise to go through different crops, and some may prefer one of those cropped versions.