Posted by Stan Rose on February 22, 2011 at 8:10 PM
Saunday morning i headed for the dunes in hopes of catching them after a light snowfall in moonlight. Unfortunately, it rained most of the storm (go figure, 8000 feet in February...) which i kind of expected but i was hoping the snow level would come in a bit lower. But it was too tempting a chance to risk missing. When it finally got cold enough to snow, it cleared out and the dunes froze solid. Try climbing a 60 degree smooth hard surface in the dark--it was a bit nuts. Add to that the 50-60 mph winds up on high dune, and the fact that i had to use a back-up tripod (my usual one is in for warranty repair...) and it was some of the toughest conditions ive shot in (just ask Josh--i must have seen him in the distance on the way out). Anywho, heres pre-sunrise, i really felt like i was on the surface of another planet.
Posted by Stan Rose on February 22, 2011 at 8:11 PM
2) Here's an indication of the conditions up on top--it was pretty intense.
Posted by Stan Rose on February 22, 2011 at 8:12 PM
3) Some decent color to the west
Posted by Stan Rose on February 22, 2011 at 8:13 PM
4) Here's one inspired by Jesse's recent work
Posted by Stan Rose on February 22, 2011 at 8:13 PM
5) The moon and san juans
Posted by Stan Rose on February 22, 2011 at 8:14 PM
6) Another one for Jesse...
Posted by Stan Rose on February 22, 2011 at 8:15 PM
7) Lastly, a color version from the same general spot as #4. One more on Landscape...
Nice series Stan. Yeah it was pretty wild out there. It was flippin cold out before the sun came up. I was on the sand maybe and hour and said screw this.
Posted by Morris McClung on February 22, 2011 at 8:58 PM
Oh Mommy, what a set! The first 3 are pure magic! The others are excellent as well.
Posted by John Mumaw on February 22, 2011 at 9:12 PM
#'s 1 & 6 are standout efforts, IMO.
You have such an amazing body of work from this place (..perhaps the best?), that anything from you that's less than stellar feel like outtakes to me.
Posted by Stan Rose on February 22, 2011 at 9:27 PM
Thanks, John--i appreciate that. I have about 250+ outtakes from Sunday (my failed timelapse series) Although i did catch a surprise bird in frame ~244
Posted by Kurt Bowman on February 22, 2011 at 10:12 PM
Another excellent series from the dunes Stan! think I like 6 best with 1 & 2 not far behind. Great work...but that sounds COLD!!!
Posted by Russ Shugart on February 22, 2011 at 10:20 PM
Stan
I love them all but 5 and 6 are my favorites. Can I ask how you processed number 6? When I was there a couple of weekends ago the wet sand froze just after sunset and the trip back to the car was like walking on tilted cement. I kept wondering what it would have been like with roller skates or my mtn bike! The contrast between the foreground and background on number 2 is really cool, soft brown and sharp blue. Fantastic.
Russ
www.AlpineGalleria.com
Posted by Doug Koepsel on February 23, 2011 at 10:10 AM
Like #2 the best for its combo of storm clouds and blowing sand. Are those shelves of frozen sand sticking out on the lee side of the ridge where the wind has blown the sand out from underneath? Those look like they would ne neat for close-ups. Might possibly crop off half the sky to accentuate the dunes and lower storm clouds more, and the horizontal pano crop may give a stronger right2left for the wind to flow in?
Are ski goggles a part of your blowing sand dunes gear?
Posted by Jeff Beard on February 23, 2011 at 12:06 PM
I like #4 but think the mountains could be brightened up a bit.
Posted by Jimmy Gekas on February 23, 2011 at 2:27 PM
#4 is my favorite! Wow.
Posted by Todd Caudle on February 23, 2011 at 3:07 PM
Another amazing series Stan! I really like #6.
Posted by Jesse Speer on February 23, 2011 at 3:20 PM
Glad to hear my recent posts inspired you Stan. #6 is my favorite. Simple, effective comp.
Posted by Lance Burch on February 23, 2011 at 3:21 PM
I really like 2. I think it's the blues and browns together that make it appealing to me. 6 would be my 2nd pick.
Posted by Lynn Scott on February 24, 2011 at 12:27 AM
I really like both the B&W Stan!! You did very well!!
Posted by Stan Rose on February 24, 2011 at 4:11 AM
Thanks, folks!
Russ--i process my B&Ws in color first, then covert in PS.
Doug--yeah, the wind created some interesting sculptures! I really should wear ski goggles up there--would have saved me from picking sand out of my tear ducts...
Posted by Bill Brennan on February 24, 2011 at 9:51 AM
Stan, great work, as always. Like your BW's very much.
Bill Brennan
Posted by Brian Jackson on February 25, 2011 at 12:55 PM
Discussion
25 repliesYou have such an amazing body of work from this place (..perhaps the best?), that anything from you that's less than stellar feel like outtakes to me.
I love them all but 5 and 6 are my favorites. Can I ask how you processed number 6? When I was there a couple of weekends ago the wet sand froze just after sunset and the trip back to the car was like walking on tilted cement. I kept wondering what it would have been like with roller skates or my mtn bike! The contrast between the foreground and background on number 2 is really cool, soft brown and sharp blue. Fantastic.
Russ
www.AlpineGalleria.com
Are ski goggles a part of your blowing sand dunes gear?
Russ--i process my B&Ws in color first, then covert in PS.
Doug--yeah, the wind created some interesting sculptures! I really should wear ski goggles up there--would have saved me from picking sand out of my tear ducts...
Bill Brennan