Transmutation

What's 'not the case'?

Transmutation, change into another nature, substance, form or condition.  I guess it really is the case but in biology it's the transformation of one species into another. Guess i was thinking out loud or in this case in print.

and visa versa on the sand -> sandstone.  Love how well the lighting on the dunes and sage shows off the textures and sets the sand aglow.  I'm also enjoying the wall of stone at the back.  In fact, I wish I could see it a bit better.

Beautiful light and patterns. I really like the presentation with the dark but discernible background mingling the the side shadows.  I like it!

Sorry for the misunderstanding Gary.

For some reason I like the smaller version in this case than the large version. I like the idea you had with this image of playing the brightly lit area against the darker background. The backlit sagebrush on the right really looks nice, as does it's shadows.  It would be nice if there was more texture in the front center since it's the closest part to the viewer. This is very nice work, Gary.

You are killing it lately Gary, the play of shadow and light is terific..

I like how the brightness of the sand fades from front to back.  The brighter sand and sage make a nice contrast with the background wall.   I could see cropping some of the back wall off the top.

Amazing... This looks like some kind of portal, and the patterns in teh sand are very graceful and fitting. I really enjoy the dark background vs the light foreground, and I think the contrast should be big, but I do wish for a tiny bit more detail in the darker parts of the dark wall. But just a wee bit more. Very well seen and executed!

I totally got your transmutation remark, but I was thinking sandstone degrading to sand! I guess ven rock has a circle of lofe, eh? I absolutely love the patterns in the sand and the light in the bottom half of the frame.  I don't really feel a need for more detail in the rock wall.  It communicates its substance well enough, but i would crop about a third of the rock off the top (to just above the two humps in the formation.

I love the shadows projecting across the less textured sand as well.  The more I look, the more I see And like.
ML

Gary, What a great b&w image you made here. I really light the light and shadow in this scene and how well they contrast each other. Nice textures and patterns in the sand too. It works fine as is but I also like Doug's thinking with cropping some off the top. A very cool shot!

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

Gary,

This is terrific. A great image of contrast, tonal range, light and shadow.  The direction of light is a refreshing look as well.  You've got just the right amount of detail in the background (despite NPN still showing a difference between original and large views...)  The contrast is excellent in the original view, but I like the additional detail available in the larger view.

Doug mentioned a crop off the top which I think works in terms of letting the light and dunes take center stage.  Alternatively, I think a crop from the bottom will have the same effect, only letting the back wall have more prominence with less of the dune.  I also thought of this because the very LLC is a little soft and center bottom of the dune nearly washed out.  Just cropping that could work too.

But no matter how you slice this one up it works wonderfully.

As far as the "transmutation," I had the same thoughts as Marylynne that it's Sandstone > Sand.... But then again going full circle, sand > sandstone is part of the cycle as well.  Nothing a little time and pressure can't cure.  ;-)

Lon

Enjoying the metaphoric quality of this image, Gary! Lovely B&W. No nits from me :)