Sossusvlei

I would appreciate your critiques and ratings on this picture taken in

Sossusvlei, Namib Desert (Namibia). Thank you for visiting.

Wow- is this a large sand dune in the background? You have a very interesting shot here, with very striking light, color and contrasts.  I am interested to know more about how you shot and processed it.  I see one bit of shadow in the orange background- and am not sure if that is from the tree or created intentionally? Was this a very still day or windy? Best regards,

Anne, yes it is a large sand dune. I shot it with a telephoto lens (250 mm) and this is a crop from the original slide (I did not have the opportunity to go near the dune nor I have a longer lens). It is shot on fujichrome velvia 50.

The shadow you see on the orange (illuminated) part of the dune is due to the rising sun; the sand dune does not have a perfectly flat surface (even it appear to be, due to the flat field created by the telephoto lens), in fact where you see the shadow there is a little hollow that at the first light of the morning is a bit shaded and receive just little light, this explain the shadow.

The day was not windy at all.

Thank you for visiting and for your interest in the picture.

Diego, Really amazing. The line between the light and dark is really elegant. I like the contrasts of the seemingly flat dark/light areas on top to the rough textures and horizontal lines of the bottom

Wow. This is a shot with a lot of impact. It takes a moment or two to get what is happening here, but then Bam!

This is a very original composition!  I love the tree positon and the line down the middle divides the frame into three parts but with the curved line of the dune makes it interesting.  My only suggestion is the foreground is a little soft and you might have tried a different aperture for greater dof.  But I love the image as is.

I'm so proud that Hasselblad chosen the picture for the Hasselblad Bulletin issue of december 2011

http://www.hasselbladbulletin.com/uk/dec-2011.aspx

Click on the "around the world" section to see it better.

Thank you to all for visiting.