White Sands In November

I shot this image the morning of 11/17/2010 on my trip with Rod Chandler. It was another cloudless trip...only a couple days with any at all. Bosque del Apache was the same.

Nikon D200, Mirror lock-up, with remote
Nikkor 24-85mm f2.8 lens at 24mm
Tripod
Processed in LR3.3, CS5 & Nik filters

Comments and Crits welcome
This image may appear a bit dark...like shooting snow.

Thanks for looking

This frame my help with the dark appearance.

Exposure looks good on my monitor. I think the empty sky adds to the stark minimalism of the image, and is actually preferable to clouds. I'm wondering if cloning out the contrails or wispy clouds on the right side of the sky would help?. Nice work.

Really like the shadow and the simplicity of the image.

I like the simplicity, but feel that you could adjust the black and white points to perk up the dingy color of the sand and help add some overall contrast 'oomph'. It's actually pretty underexposed (see your histogram).

John, Is this better?
Thanks,
Dave

Yeah, I think so, Dave. How 'bout you?

The revision is much better. For this composition, the clear blue sky is just fine.

My first thought for this image was B&W. Color is not the strong suit here and there are some nice graphical things going on.

I do like the revision better, too. Nice white sand, beautiful cobalt blue sky and a nice yucca for some interest. Simple and yet very effective. Nice work!

A good reason to tie in a visit to White Sands before or after the Bosque. Very nicw work. The simplicity is captivating.

Bill Brennan

"My first thought for this image was B&W. Color is not the strong suit here and there are some nice graphical things going on."

That's not a bad idea at all!

I like the revision, would love to see a b&w as well.

I also like the simplicity of this and the revision and another vote to see it in B&W.