Input needed...

I played around with some duoone split conversions on some of my Dunes shots that i otherwise would have trashed. Do you think the conversions helped on them, or whether something else might? Dont worry about hurting my feelings...these were allready gonna gather harddrive dust.

Heres your basic Herard shot

And one of these strange line-wind-formations. Thanks for any comments!

Stan,
I like the second image best...what would you think of cropping about 25% off the bottom?
a little less foreground?
I like the way the snow pops against the warmth of the balance of the image.
Dave Bartlett

Hey Stan. I really like the first two. Very dynamic! The grasses in the fg of #2 contrast nicely with the dunes in the mg. The contrast in both is right on IMO. I don't care for the last one. Too moch fg real estate with not enough going on. I really gotta get to the dunes man!

Hey....there's those branches again!!

Of the three, I find the second one the most appealing.
I gotta say that I really like the toning used here. Seems to be very appropriate for Western landscapes in particular, and this area especially (Great Stan Dunes?!?).

I think the one with the grass is gorgeous, probably due in no small part to the toning - though the comp is solid.

The other two don't do much for me. Too much tree in the first, too much FG in the third.

I love #2 Stan, pretty much everything about it. I really like the toning and conversion in #1, but I'm not crazy about the tree. It's a good tree, but what I really want to look at is the light and curves on the dunes. In #3 the bare sky at the top and the darker ground at the bottom aren't working for me. The lines in the sand are awesome, but the shadow of that hummuck is breaking up their rhythm. I like it, but I don't think I'd quite call it a keeper.

I like the look and feel of #1, but that tree makes it too busy for me. #2 looks great, I wouldn't crop it but I would bring out the blacks in the fg grass, it needs a bit more definition, according to my eyes. #3 doesn't do a whole lot for me.

I really like number 2 the best also. I like number 1 but the tree seems to block a lot of the dunes. I do like the split toning..that's something I need to learn to master.

Jack

Hey, thanks guys, that's very helpful to me! For the split-tones, i basically used the natural tones of the dunes, a warm sand color for the highlites and cool blue for the shadows. I was a bit unsure of the outcome, so im glad it seems to work for some of you--ill have to give it a go on some stronger comps!

REALLY like #2...nice job.

Another vote for #2, Stan, but I do find #3 to be really interesting. Thanks for explaining what the patterns are. At first I thought they were tire tracks.

Stan,

Over all I like all three compositionally and idealistically, however the Rose tone I see bothers me.a little. I think going more towards the true Colors or true B/W would look much better.

I just love the Tree as a Focal Leading Point.

Stan, I like the conversion, but I think the split tones are intersecting a little too much in the mid tones creating as James puts it, a rose tone in the middle.

The 2nd, with the FG grass, is an excellent comp. The others don't really hold up to the rest of your stellar work from GSDNP. My personal preference is traditional color or BW, but we are creating art, eh?

I think the 2nd is an excellent image. I think #1 could be great if you could make the tree not blend into the dunes as much, more contrast in the two maybe.

Compositionally, #2 is the best and a very strong image. The tree is too dominant for me in #1, and #3 is foreground heavy; it's nice foreground, but taking up more real-estate than it can support, imho.

Might take some getting used to, but right now the toning feels a little heavy-handed. I like it, but might like it a little more if there were a little less.

Strong creative effort; looking forward to seeing more!

Thanks guys--ill be posting a better effort on ESS tomorrow night, hope you can check it out.

Very cool shots. The conversions work nicely for me. I really like the shot with the bent over grasses and Mt Herard in the BG. Wonderful !

For me, #2 is by far and away the best image. Love the grasses in the fg. I have a feeling that if you put it side by side with the color version, I'd pick the color. Nothing wrong with your conversion, just my preference. That first shot is just too busy with that dominating foreground tree.