Ocean Dune

Gallery: LandscapePosted March 10, 20111,318 views39 comments

California's Central Coast

Shot a little later the same morning as this one. I've been doing some coast work lately so hope to share some more if time allows but I have a couple of workshops during the last half of the month.

When photographing dunes under a bright sky you can expose for the sky and let the highlights in the in the dunes pop! A small amount of blue sky never hurts the color contrasts.

2 shots 24mm TSE lens

*The tracks, the reason they haven't been cloned out here is because I wouldn't mind seeing the finer details in a large print. I do see how they would be a distraction at a small size for some.

Comments

39 comments

Comment posted by Bill Chambers on March 10, 2011 at 11:40 AM

This is a real beauty Steve. I love the color contrast bewteen the sky and dunes. Lovely texture in the sand too. Personally, I like the addition of the tracks.

Registered on April 10, 2005, 753 Posts, 21216 Comments

Comment posted by Todd Liotine on March 10, 2011 at 11:49 AM

Great dunes shot, the texture in the sky really makes this one work. The tracks work with the lines in the dunes nicely. I have this lens as well did you shift the lens for these two shots or rotate the tripod.

Registered on July 1, 2008, 131 Posts, 671 Comments

Comment posted by Peter Richter on March 10, 2011 at 11:53 AM

Steve, I admire the patterns of the sand, especially how the curved lines are somehow repeated by the clouds. Amazing motion from the bottom to the top.

Peter

Registered on November 10, 2010, 218 Posts, 2723 Comments

Comment posted by Carol Hyman on March 10, 2011 at 12:13 PM

Steve, I think this is beautiful. To my mind's eye, the tracks are no problem and what really attracts me in this image is the sky.

Carol

Registered on January 18, 2007, 597 Posts, 8062 Comments

Comment posted by Mohsen Al-Dajani on March 10, 2011 at 12:33 PM

Truly killer shot Steve.

Registered on August 23, 2007, 160 Posts, 432 Comments

Comment posted by Jared Atencio on March 10, 2011 at 12:42 PM

Wow Steve, POP is right!!! I love everything about this shot, the warm tones contrast nicely with the blue sky, and love how the waves on the dunes are complemented by the wavy clouds. The tracks are no distraction and agree that they'd add interest in a larger print. Kudos and congrats on a truly awesome shot!

Registered on June 23, 2009, 21 Posts, 422 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Sieren on March 10, 2011 at 12:44 PM

Todd, I shifted the lens. I need to tell people that or they just say hey nice crop. There were lots of footprints around so composing was a little on the limited side. I wanted some of that blue to contrast the golden sand.

Registered on January 2, 2008, 360 Posts, 5321 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Jones on March 10, 2011 at 1:38 PM

Wow! Great colors and textures. Square crop works well here. I like the way the wavy clouds mimics the ripples in the sand. I almost always enjoy tracks, and this is no exception.

Registered on April 18, 2007, 953 Posts, 6435 Comments

Comment posted by Jimmy Gekas on March 10, 2011 at 1:41 PM

Love the sky and the square format. Those clouds really work well with the sand ripples, hills, etc.

Registered on July 26, 2007, 244 Posts, 2807 Comments

Comment posted by Kory Lidstrom on March 10, 2011 at 2:14 PM

The dunes are nice here, but that sky is what makes this image great for me. I'm not crazy about square comps but it serves the purpose here. Overall, a nice image.

Good notation about those tracks. They are distracting, but may be ok in a large print as you say.

Registered on November 19, 2008, 49 Posts, 1035 Comments

Comment posted by Walt Sterneman on March 10, 2011 at 2:45 PM

Fantastic colors Steve. The combination of the sky and the sand is just tremendous.

Registered on March 24, 2010, 73 Posts, 1268 Comments

Comment posted by Ian Cameron on March 10, 2011 at 2:47 PM

That's a really nice dune shot Steve very natural looking I like it a lot. Especially the mimicry of foreground ridges in the dunes and the twisted tails of cirrus cloud in the sky.

I

Registered on August 6, 2004, 1125 Posts, 3318 Comments

Comment posted by Rodrigo Sandoval on March 10, 2011 at 2:47 PM

Steven,
Another visual wonder! And the title is just perfect, as is the photo. The final exposure you achieved is superb.

Registered on April 4, 2009, 13 Posts, 254 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Fach on March 10, 2011 at 3:15 PM

Steve: What beautiful light! I normally don't care much for a horizon this close to the mid-line but here it works very well. I think the tracks are a plus element for sure and would be even more so in a larger presentation. >=))>

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1805 Posts, 26981 Comments

Comment posted by Harry Lichtman on March 10, 2011 at 3:49 PM

The cloud patterns and ripples do it for me. Might also be interesting as a B&W. The sky adds to the expansive feeling of the image.

Registered on September 17, 2010, 304 Posts, 3507 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Metternich on March 10, 2011 at 3:51 PM

Very nice Steve. Love the lighting you got here.

Mark

Registered on June 19, 2009, 276 Posts, 6240 Comments

Comment posted by Guy Tal on March 10, 2011 at 5:09 PM

Fantastic composition, Steve! I love the way the sky and sand interact.

Guy

Registered on November 1, 2003, 566 Posts, 15507 Comments

Comment posted by Zack Clothier on March 10, 2011 at 5:32 PM

Very nice shot Steve! Love the blue/orange contrast. The tracks don't bother me at all. I've been experimenting recently with stitching multiple images together to create larger files with more detail, it's a little tricky. I need one of those fancy TS lenses

Registered on January 28, 2010, 343 Posts, 2257 Comments

Comment posted by Eva McDermott on March 10, 2011 at 6:50 PM

Stunning beauty Steve! I love the combination of blue and orange Wonderful textures and tones throughout.

Registered on January 4, 2009, 1015 Posts, 13229 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on March 10, 2011 at 9:04 PM

You're definitely right about the dunes "popping". The glow in the first curve is awesome. There is so much interesting texture in the dunes and then it's mimicked by the clouds. Terrific picture.

Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments

Comment posted by Dan Baumbach on March 10, 2011 at 9:30 PM

Now that's a great dune image. What a combination of textures and so well put together so it all works.

- Dan.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 473 Posts, 7980 Comments

Comment posted by Paul DeCesare on March 10, 2011 at 10:05 PM

Cowabunga!! Man, this is like a window to the vast world, you CAPTURED it. The comp you created with the two shifted images is dead on. And in my weirdo opinion, the tracks add great reality interest, it'd seem too "perfect" without that, I prefer them in there in this shot for some reason. Winner in my book!

Registered on August 31, 2007, 29 Posts, 202 Comments

Comment posted by Gino Cortez on March 10, 2011 at 10:31 PM

Excellent "popping" of the sand dunes' color! Very nice two-shot, vertical blend vision.

Registered on November 23, 2010, 57 Posts, 396 Comments

Comment posted by RL Potts on March 11, 2011 at 12:32 AM

Keep the tracks. Lovely shot. The only thing that detracts a little is the crumblies off the right side of the foreground dune ridge.

Registered on November 24, 2003, 188 Posts, 985 Comments

Comment posted by Dean Sauskojus on March 11, 2011 at 1:53 AM

The thing I like about this image is how the twisty clouds imitate the ripples of the dunes and of course the nice light. An A+ image Steve.

Registered on September 29, 2009, 137 Posts, 2659 Comments

Comment posted by Stan Rose on March 11, 2011 at 6:54 AM

Nice counterpoint between the complex sky and equally cool dunes! The blue up top feels maybe a hair too heavy/deep for me, otherwise this is a clear winner.

Registered on September 15, 2005, 836 Posts, 17099 Comments

Comment posted by Laurent Baig on March 11, 2011 at 1:44 PM

Nice glow in the sand!

Registered on January 12, 2005, 206 Posts, 6784 Comments

Comment posted by Margo Pinkerton on March 11, 2011 at 4:26 PM

Steve, I really love this image and the patterns and textures therein. I even think the critter tracks really add to it. I don't care what the size is. It's the desert, and critters cross the desert sands! What a beautiful sky you had!

Registered on October 18, 2007, 39 Posts, 214 Comments

Comment posted by Justin Reznick on March 11, 2011 at 7:55 PM

I really dig this Steve, the play between the sky and dunes is fantastic!

Registered on November 24, 2009, 79 Posts, 515 Comments

Comment posted by Grant Collier on March 12, 2011 at 12:04 PM

The curves in the dunes complemented by the curves in the clouds truly make this shot stand out.

Registered on July 29, 2005, 73 Posts, 430 Comments

Comment posted by Chris Chamberlain on March 12, 2011 at 3:35 PM

This is great! An image where two separate entities equally strong work well to create the whole. Patterns color and light are awesome in both foreground and sky.

Chris

Registered on March 13, 2007, 500 Posts, 8365 Comments

Comment posted by Levy Carneiro Jr on March 12, 2011 at 6:54 PM

What called attention first to me was the sky. Nice patterns and deep saturated blue on this one. I like the motion on the clouds: center of the image -> off center.

I like the square aspect ratio. Almost always results in classy compositions.

I also like how the horizon was placed in the center of the frame, and despite all rules as the rule of thirds, this works perfectly here.

The sand has lots of detail, lots of interesting curves. This bright depression in the sand's center would be the main subject along with the sky. In fact, choosing 1:1 made them both the subjects of this image.

Wonderful image! Congrats!

Registered on March 12, 2011, 1 Posts, 10 Comments

Comment posted by Morris McClung on March 12, 2011 at 6:56 PM

Excellent comp, color, and light. The lines in the sand and in the clouds are outstanding.

Registered on May 7, 2007, 670 Posts, 19650 Comments

Comment posted by Arild Heitmann on March 14, 2011 at 5:46 AM

Sensational light and textures....absolutely love this!

Registered on October 13, 2010, 27 Posts, 378 Comments

Comment posted by Robert Dayton on March 14, 2011 at 8:19 PM

Great colors and composition, Steve! I've only been to the
coastal dunes once and certainly didn't get light and a sky
like this.

Registered on November 11, 2008, 281 Posts, 3958 Comments

Comment posted by Paul DeCesare on March 17, 2011 at 12:32 AM

Hey, congrats Steve! You made it easy for the judges.

Registered on August 31, 2007, 29 Posts, 202 Comments

Comment posted by Fabio Giarrizzo on March 17, 2011 at 3:04 PM

Simply beautiful- Great chromatic contrast, composition and treatment of light- My best congrats, Fabio

Registered on December 3, 2010, 90 Posts, 1614 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on March 18, 2011 at 1:48 AM

Steve - very exceptional image!
Congrats on the well-deserved EP!
Sandy

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by Jeff Wiles on March 20, 2011 at 1:23 AM

A superb harmony of texture/patterns and color. 3 tips of the hat to you!

~ Jeff Wiles
www.jeffwilesphotography.com

p.s. Where approximately was this site on the central coast- if you don't mind me asking?

Registered on January 22, 2011, 43 Posts, 46 Comments