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Solitude
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Solitude

by Jared Ropelato

Gallery: LandscapePosted April 28, 2011316 views10 comments
After spending the previous night wandering around the Racetrack looking all night to find the right rock to shoot under moonlight, I slept in, slowly drove back towards Stovepipe Wells, and parked as close to a bush as I could to try to find some shade. The branches of said bush were actually poking inside my truck window. I ate lunch, listened to some music, and waited for the right time to head on into the Mesquite Dunes. “Right time” for me meant cooler, as it was 97 and I’m not used to such yet, and the makings of good light. I got one of the two. :o)

Sunset was slated for around 7:30, so around 5, I loaded up all my gear and waded into these dunes. There were a lot of people around, and I had it in mind from the beginning that I’d be walking clear to the other side of these piles of living and breathing sand. I ended up heading a little over ¾ of the way to the other side, one a wandering hike that lasted about an hour forty five. I then traipsed around, up one side, down the other, looking for what would be the best possible few locations. I ended up finding a great spot in a saddle that offered nearly six or seven comps in all directions within about one to two minutes of each other. This came in very handy as seemingly jet skied around the dunes at 90mph as the light hit.


I hope you like this one. I call it Solitude.

–jared r.

Comments

10 comments
Comment posted by Koveh Tavakkol on April 28, 2011 at 6:34 PM
Beautiful shot Jared.. I really like the snaking curves in the sand, and the exposure is perfect between the shadows and light side of the dunes.
Registered on September 1, 2009, 41 Posts, 608 Comments
Comment posted by Hamed Musharbak on April 28, 2011 at 6:59 PM
Excellent :toast:

it looks like 3D

love it
Registered on June 1, 2009, 372 Posts, 2282 Comments
Comment posted by Stan Rose on April 28, 2011 at 7:41 PM
My initial reaction was 'real purty', which is probably the thought that matters most, but when i put on my critic's hat i find that the balance feels a bit off--with the main dune of interest being far on the right side (not enough of the shadowed circle inthe lrhc) Some nice diaganols though, i like the thirds, and the processing looks spot on... :wavey:
Registered on September 15, 2005, 836 Posts, 17099 Comments
Comment posted by Mark Seaver on April 28, 2011 at 8:01 PM
I like the soft lighting on the dunes and how they sweep to the right and then back to the center.
Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments
Comment posted by Richard Teller on April 28, 2011 at 8:59 PM
I like the soft lighting in this image. The curves of the dunes lead me into the image also.
Registered on August 23, 2010, 1162 Posts, 6692 Comments
Comment posted by Bill Chambers on April 28, 2011 at 9:05 PM
Excellent Jared. The soft light and pastel sky makes this sing.
Registered on April 10, 2005, 753 Posts, 21216 Comments
Comment posted by Art Escobado on April 28, 2011 at 11:12 PM
I like the soft dune colors here - :toast:
Registered on January 7, 2007, 0 Posts, 775 Comments
Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on April 28, 2011 at 11:30 PM
Cool dunes! Comp and light are excellent. My only thought might be to balance the light in the sky a bit more: a little less dark at the top and a little more dark at the bottom.
Registered on November 1, 2003, 364 Posts, 22328 Comments
Comment posted by Rick Lundh on April 29, 2011 at 2:49 PM
The tones are really nice here! I like it.
Registered on April 28, 2004, 774 Posts, 4351 Comments
Comment posted by Aaron Burdick on April 29, 2011 at 6:01 PM
Beautiful! The processing is spot on, though I agree with Tony about the sky on the left. I'm loving all the dune lines and you composed the sky well to match these.
Registered on May 1, 2009, 31 Posts, 197 Comments