Island in The Sand

Original shot on 4x5 cropped to a 6x12 ratio.

Shot on T-MAX 100, toned in Photoshop.

Death Valley, California.

Desert shots are difficult. This is very nice.6/6.

I like the texture in the foreground-middle and left. I wish there was even more texture throughout. Proportions are excellent-draws you in to the main subject and then a near/far comparison with the lighter sand in the distance takes over.

I took a very similar shot of this about 2 weeks ago, I have to say that I like yours a lot better. Black and White was the right choice here- how did you manage to get this with no people? I showed up in the morning and there were already tracks everywhere! Very impressive.

 

I particularly like the way the light reflects of the distant dune in the upper right. It balances the picture well.

Thanks Ryan.

You are right. The place gets filled with people very early on and footsteps get everywhere. To be sure, I waited in my car for the sunrise and I walked and walked into the dune as far as possible when everyone vanished from my sight. Not a soul was around for the whole hour that I was at the location. The relentless rain in California had kept the visitors indoors too I think.

The rain was both good and bad- I had been wanting to visit Death Valley for a couple of years, and I think it kept the numbers of people down, but it also made much of the park innaccessable; particularly "the racetrack" which I had wanted to see.

 

Do you have other shots of Death Valley that you could show us? I would really love to see them.

Ryan, there were parts of DV that was closed due to the rain but it was opening up as I was leaving. It is such a different mood when it rains there, you can always find subjects to shoot. Anyway, there are a few images from DV in my images folder here if you want to take a look:

 

http://photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=415983

 

There are more that I haven't processed or posted yet. In time.

Avi,

 

I enjoy your rather sparse/stark sensibility. No major statement in this picture, but done with wonderful clarity. I rate this approach high, 7A/6O. I cannot help wonder what the distant dune at the upper right quadrant would have looked like if isolated with a long lens. You did not shoot that by any chance, did you?

 

Regards.

 

Shilesh

Thanks, Shilesh. I am afraid I did not shoot the dune you are talking about with a long lens. There were many wonderful compositions for a long lens but my LF kit doesn't have one at the moment. I saw potential for 400 to 600 tele lenses and now I know what to add to my lens kit in the future.

Avi, I know what you mean. My longest 4x5 lens is 300 mm it it gets a lot of use. Still I miss the isolation I was able to achieve on my 35 mm gear with a 200 mm lens. I guess that is why I have not sold the plethora of 35 mm stuff I still have. Let us know what you get for the long lens, and how you like it. And........pictures too!