Posted by Mel Ladewig on February 14, 2008 at 4:35 PM
Last September my wife and I headed out one morning to explore a new (to us)lake for some fishing. I could see on the map that a 4WD road lead to the lake and from the topo it didn't look like there would be any difficulties. We pulled up that morning, found the road and headed up.
Quickly I remembered how rough Sangre De Cristo roads were. Neither of us were in the mood for the bouncing rough ride that we faced, so after a mile or so up the road we decided to go try something different.
We eventually decided to head over to Sand Dunes. As we neared the park a brief thunderstorm drenched the dunes. As we parked we saw people soaked to the bone staggering back to their cars probably frightened by the lightening that accompanied the rain.
As a result of that storm we spent a cool and quiet afternoon on the dunes. Unusual considering that it was labor day weekend.
I did have to clone a few people from the background in this shot, but not as many as normal for high dune. Also, the small size does cause some problems with the backlit person on the dunes. He is wearing a red sweatshirt, it isn't color fringing or CA causing the red.
I'd never really looked at these photos for anything other than a couple snapshots of Sandy and I. But I was scrolling through my catalog the other day and found this shot which I felt was interesting.
Posted by Laurie Wendt on February 14, 2008 at 8:53 PM
Mel, Neat story and a cool shot of the dunes! I experienced a similar situation at the dunes when I visited last June. A thunderstorm with some major wind came through. A very crowded sunday in June became almost deserted!
Posted by Kalin Wilson on February 14, 2008 at 10:20 PM
Nice shot of the dunes. Gotta get back there soon!
Posted by Bert Fukuda on February 14, 2008 at 11:08 PM
Nice shot Mel. The lone figure gives you a sense of scale.
Posted by Stan Rose on February 15, 2008 at 3:14 AM
I like this, as Bert says the grand scale is really enhanced by the figure. The popcorn clouds give it a nice summer afternoon feel.
Posted by Todd Caudle on February 15, 2008 at 2:12 PM
This shot just has a really good vibe.
Posted by John Klotz on February 15, 2008 at 11:23 PM
Nice Mel! Love them dunes... don't get there often enough but, I am thinking a March or early April trip.
John
Posted by Paul Gana on February 16, 2008 at 2:37 AM
Wow, great shot, Mel. Looks like a nice day at the dunes indeed.
Posted by Dan Walters on February 16, 2008 at 4:43 PM
Nice image! The figure really adds to the image.
Posted by Guy Schmickle on February 16, 2008 at 11:31 PM
A very neat image despite the challenging lighting conditions. Good placement of the solitary figure in the scene. I'd maybe do something with the couple of minor flare circles (just left of center) in the sky.
Posted by Pam Colander on February 18, 2008 at 12:12 AM
Good sense of scale Mel. I need to get deeper into the dunes next time I go. All my shots are riddled with tracks.
Discussion
11 repliesQuickly I remembered how rough Sangre De Cristo roads were. Neither of us were in the mood for the bouncing rough ride that we faced, so after a mile or so up the road we decided to go try something different.
We eventually decided to head over to Sand Dunes. As we neared the park a brief thunderstorm drenched the dunes. As we parked we saw people soaked to the bone staggering back to their cars probably frightened by the lightening that accompanied the rain.
As a result of that storm we spent a cool and quiet afternoon on the dunes. Unusual considering that it was labor day weekend.
I did have to clone a few people from the background in this shot, but not as many as normal for high dune. Also, the small size does cause some problems with the backlit person on the dunes. He is wearing a red sweatshirt, it isn't color fringing or CA causing the red.
I'd never really looked at these photos for anything other than a couple snapshots of Sandy and I. But I was scrolling through my catalog the other day and found this shot which I felt was interesting.
John
Pam