Posted by Jeff Sirota on April 27, 2007 at 4:39 PM
Anyone have any recommendations for their favorite Great Sand Dunes sunrise and sunset spots? Anything you have would be appreciated (particularly with pictures)! Thanks!
Posted by Les Barstow on April 27, 2007 at 4:54 PM
For sunset, any of the overlook pull-offs along the park road are quite nice. Sunrise or sunset, High Dune and Star Dune are good places to be as well. Sunrise and sunset are also good for abstracts and intimate landscapes - close-ups of sand ripples, light-and-shadow images of the dune curves, and Sunflower images come to mind immediately; those can be had almost anywhere on the dunes.
For a more distant perspective, the San Luis Lakes State Park is nice for sunsets, especially if there's snow on the peaks. The dunes aren't very big from there, but you can still get them in the shot.
Keep in mind that the Dunes are bounded on the East by the Sangre de Christo range, making the best sunrise shots those with cloud cover above the mountains. And also keep in mind that shadows are very deep on the dunes themselves at sunset; get there early to capture the changing shadow patterns.
You can take a look at my Great Sand Dunes gallery, though I fear it doesn't match up to some other folks' images.
If Medano Creek is flowing, that's a must for sunrise; I haven't tried it for sunset. I heard that it was flowing lightly a couple of weeks ago, but drying up before reaching the area near the visitor's center (which provides for the most dramatic views).
For sunset, I like shooting from the sandsheet beyond the edge of the dunes; I typically park along the road before the entrance to the Park (near the general store) and find a quiet spot.
Here's a link to my Great Sand Dunes gallery. The first 6 color images were shot from the sandsheet, about a mile or so from the Park entrance. The 6 b&w images were all shot about 1/2 mile or so into the dunes, as measured from visitor's center. The last two color images were shot standing in the creek, a couple of hundred yards or so from the visitor's center.
We (RMNP) currently have an exhibit on display down there. Here are all the images that were submitted for consideration. This should provide a diverse collection of GSD images to get you inspired!
Posted by Jeff Sirota on April 28, 2007 at 2:02 PM
Thanks for all your replies. I was also wondering if anyone recommended any particular kind of equipment for shooting the dunes (e.g., certain filters). Thanks!
Rick -- those shots on your site are exceptional. Thanks for the link.
Discussion
3 repliesFor a more distant perspective, the San Luis Lakes State Park is nice for sunsets, especially if there's snow on the peaks. The dunes aren't very big from there, but you can still get them in the shot.
Keep in mind that the Dunes are bounded on the East by the Sangre de Christo range, making the best sunrise shots those with cloud cover above the mountains. And also keep in mind that shadows are very deep on the dunes themselves at sunset; get there early to capture the changing shadow patterns.
You can take a look at my Great Sand Dunes gallery, though I fear it doesn't match up to some other folks' images.
For sunset, I like shooting from the sandsheet beyond the edge of the dunes; I typically park along the road before the entrance to the Park (near the general store) and find a quiet spot.
Here's a link to my Great Sand Dunes gallery. The first 6 color images were shot from the sandsheet, about a mile or so from the Park entrance. The 6 b&w images were all shot about 1/2 mile or so into the dunes, as measured from visitor's center. The last two color images were shot standing in the creek, a couple of hundred yards or so from the visitor's center.
We (RMNP) currently have an exhibit on display down there. Here are all the images that were submitted for consideration. This should provide a diverse collection of GSD images to get you inspired!
Rick -- those shots on your site are exceptional. Thanks for the link.