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Posted by Nat Coalson on April 18, 2006 at 1:11 PM
My first photo post; would love to get comments and suggestions.
This image was captured shortly after sunset in mid-January at White Sands National Monument in New Mexico.
Canon 10D, 17-40L at 28mm, .5 s at f/20, custom white balance at 6900k, no filters.
Processed with Adobe Camera Raw 3.3 and Photoshop CS2.
Posted by Les Barstow on April 18, 2006 at 1:32 PM
That's marvelous, Nat! Very relaxing; I could see this on living room and office walls around the country...
Posted by Robbie George on April 18, 2006 at 1:35 PM
Great pastel colors! I really like to placement of the vegetation as well. Nicely done! Robbie George
Posted by Todd Caudle on April 18, 2006 at 2:17 PM
The photo's really nice, but I don't know about your PS skills. Maybe you could take a lesson or two. There's some guy who gave a workshop to some other CNPers, but I don't remember his name.
I love that the sand picks up some of the sky color. Great shot!
Man that's nice! Did you camp on the dunes? That light is something else, and the way that the yucca leans into the scene lends it a lot of character. Superb!
Posted by Scott Bacon on April 18, 2006 at 3:27 PM
Beautiful - love the sand ripples and soft tones.
Posted by Grant Collier on April 18, 2006 at 3:31 PM
Great composition and lighting! However, I'm with Todd. It looks like you did a poor RAW conversion, didn't sharpen the image enough, overdid the color-correction, and could have darkened the sky a little more. There's also a big, white scratch or dust spot on the very bottom, right of the image. I'll be happy to give you some beginner's Photoshop instruction sometime
Posted by Scott Borger on April 18, 2006 at 3:46 PM
Great shot. You just added this to my list of places to visit.
Posted by Scott Buckel on April 18, 2006 at 4:04 PM
Very nice image. I love pastel images.
Posted by Jack Brauer on April 18, 2006 at 4:38 PM
Very mellow image. Nice colors!
Posted by Nat Coalson on April 18, 2006 at 5:13 PM
Thanks for the comments!
I would highly recommend CNPers check out White Sands and central New Mexico; it's relativly easy to get to and one of the most unearthly places on earth. And the light is amazing.
Rick - no, I didn't camp on the dunes; we stayed in Alomogordo that night. However, I managed to wander through the camping area the next morning, by way of the Alkali Flat trail. The number of footprints was "staggering" so not a lot of good shooting around there.
We spoke with the rangers and got the tips for the least footprints, and we got a special pass to enter the Monument well before sunrise the next morning. I'm still sorting through those shots; will post a sunrise image when I have one ready.
Todd and Grant: thanks for the inspiration to improve my Photoshop skills, I will definitely keep working on it
I've been to White Sands a couple of times and love the place. This is a spectacular photo of the area, Nat. The pastel sky really glows and I love how some of the color is reflected in the sand.
I have an idea.... Why not coordinate a gathering here at CNP and SWNP for a White Sands Shoot Out? You obviously have this place tweaked in and could teach any of us a thing or three.
Posted by Nat Coalson on April 19, 2006 at 5:38 PM
James-
Good idea, I'll put something together.
Posted by Mike Porter on April 21, 2006 at 4:08 PM
Nat,
This is top notch work. The shot has an earthly quality that we all seek in our own work.
Cheers
Posted by Nat Coalson on April 24, 2006 at 9:25 PM
Bill-
The special pass can be obtained from the ranger station. It was $50. A ranger met us at the gate at 5:45 to let us in. It worked out great!
Discussion
19 repliesThis image was captured shortly after sunset in mid-January at White Sands National Monument in New Mexico.
Canon 10D, 17-40L at 28mm, .5 s at f/20, custom white balance at 6900k, no filters.
Processed with Adobe Camera Raw 3.3 and Photoshop CS2.
I love that the sand picks up some of the sky color. Great shot!
I really need to get out more often and find places like this!
I would highly recommend CNPers check out White Sands and central New Mexico; it's relativly easy to get to and one of the most unearthly places on earth. And the light is amazing.
Rick - no, I didn't camp on the dunes; we stayed in Alomogordo that night. However, I managed to wander through the camping area the next morning, by way of the Alkali Flat trail. The number of footprints was "staggering"
We spoke with the rangers and got the tips for the least footprints, and we got a special pass to enter the Monument well before sunrise the next morning. I'm still sorting through those shots; will post a sunrise image when I have one ready.
Todd and Grant: thanks for the inspiration to improve my Photoshop skills, I will definitely keep working on it
RichieV
But I agree, you need to clone out those white scratches
My plans in January had been to include White Sands on my drive back to Houston, but I stopped at Bosque del Apache and ran out of time.
How does one obtain a "special pass" to enter before sunrise??
I understood the only way to do that was camp-out ?
I have an idea.... Why not coordinate a gathering here at CNP and SWNP for a White Sands Shoot Out? You obviously have this place tweaked in and could teach any of us a thing or three.
Good idea, I'll put something together.
This is top notch work. The shot has an earthly quality that we all seek in our own work.
Cheers
The special pass can be obtained from the ranger station. It was $50. A ranger met us at the gate at 5:45 to let us in. It worked out great!