Hi all! The above image was taken on Friday night in Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado. I traveled here with my college class and was therefore unable to exhibit much control over my photo opportunities. We arrived just before sunset and as a result, I had to settle for shooting from the base of the dunes instead of from the top. The following evening brought rain and snow that further eliminated my options! Even so, I was happy to come away with at least one photo since this was my first time to bring my camera to the area.
This is a single image that could definitely benefit from multiple exposure blending to reduce the blown highlights - however, I was unable to take the multiple shots necessary to do this.
Nikon D5100
Tokina 11-16 mm
ISO 100
16 mm
f/11
0.6 sec
Your comments give a good synopsis of the pic. I like the color and many will not find a problem with the hot spots in the sky. I hope to get back there- it's probably been 20 years.
Posted by Glenn Randall on April 30, 2014 at 1:49 PM
Looks like you thought fast and make excellent use of the one opportunity you did have. As you already know, the blown highlights are an issue, but now you know what you need to do the next time you're there.
Posted by Paul DeCesare on April 30, 2014 at 4:34 PM
You did well here Crystal, given that it's a single exposure and not even with a hard step grad filter. The blown highlights aren't ruining my day because of the amazing amount of detail in the remainder of the sky. You'd want to reshoot if this were intended for a gallery maybe, but the cloud patterns (especially with those low-hanging drifters) are quite attractive. If I were to "wish for" anything in this image it would be for some sort of close foreground interest. The thing is, you have a great pattern in the sand but there's a lot of it in the foreground. I'd hate to say crop up from the bottom on this one BECAUSE of the pattern in the sand and the fact that it's at a good angle. When you return here, look around for even the smallest of plants in the sand (or a rock or dead wood or a piston from a 1970 Dodge Challenger with a 426 cubic inch Hemi) and maybe put that in the very foreground. You're shooting pretty wide so collapse those tripod legs so your camera is really low and see if can incorporate something right near the bottom edge. THEN you'll have that foreground/midground/background trio to keep the eye in the frame and happy. A good example of that is in an image I was just studying last night, White Sands by Alain Briot (who is also one of our NPN family).
You've got all of the other elements, this is a nice location you've picked. Overall, well done!
This is a nice image. My main nit is that blown out sky. Generally, I rely on my histogram and try to ensure that I never blow out the highlights, as they can rarely be recovered. If I have to make a choice between losing shadows and losing highlights, I'll always sacrifice the shadows. The human eye is always drawn to the brightest point of an image and so if this area is gone, then you've lost your viewer. Whereas, the loss of shadow detail isn't necessarily quite as big of a deal.
As for the composition, I do like all of the different lines and layers. My tendency would be to crop this in a 1x2 format as that is what the dunes seem to call for in my mind, but then you lose the most interesting foreground and clouds. Perhaps a lower position would have allowed you to create a more cohesive image. It's hard to tell without being there. Crystal, this really is a good image and one that most people will probably rave over. We're trying to be picky as we know that your desire is to continue to grow in your photography. With continued practice you'll start turning these opportunities into amazing images, you're well on your way.
Great work Crystal! I love the comp with the inclusion of the patterned dune in the foreground. Most of the images I've seen from this vantage point use the creek as the foreground so this adds another layer to the scene. You handled the processing nicely as well (aside from the blown highlights which you can't do much with) the colors in the sky are very natural and not overdone.
Hi Crystal, I like the shot overall. I also like the inclusion of the ripples in the foreground, it adds that extra layer into a nice composition. The sky is nice outside of the lost highlights, which could maybe be fixed. Do you shoot RAW or is this a JPEG? If it is a RAW file, you could make a JPEG at this exposure, and then another that is underexposed a stop or so, then blend in the two in Photoshop. It may work, it may not. Give it a try and see.
Thank you all for the feedback! Paul - I completely agree! I sacrificed foreground interest in an effort to capture the colors in the sky before they faded (as I arrived right as they peaked). Next time I'll follow your advice! I've definitely come to realize the importance of a detailed and well thought out foreground.
Erik - thank you for weighing in! Do you do a lot of exposure blending or do you take single images that are slightly underexposed and then recover the shadows in Lightroom? I'll definitely pay more attention to my histogram next time - good point! And thanks for the criticism, I certainly appreciate it!
Crystal, I generally take single exposures with a GND. I watch for the highlights and then adjust the shadows. I know that if I took more time to take multiple shots and do exposure blending that that would be even better, but I'm getting buy currently with the single exposure approach.
Hi, Crystal. Love that sky and color! I'm late responding and the earlier comments are very helpful IMO. I think you did really well with the noted limitations of the situation. Growing up in Colorado I visited these dunes at least half a dozen times, but I need to get back there now that I'm into photography.
Discussion
11 repliesThis is a single image that could definitely benefit from multiple exposure blending to reduce the blown highlights - however, I was unable to take the multiple shots necessary to do this.
Nikon D5100
Tokina 11-16 mm
ISO 100
16 mm
f/11
0.6 sec
You've got all of the other elements, this is a nice location you've picked. Overall, well done!
This is a nice image. My main nit is that blown out sky. Generally, I rely on my histogram and try to ensure that I never blow out the highlights, as they can rarely be recovered. If I have to make a choice between losing shadows and losing highlights, I'll always sacrifice the shadows. The human eye is always drawn to the brightest point of an image and so if this area is gone, then you've lost your viewer. Whereas, the loss of shadow detail isn't necessarily quite as big of a deal.
As for the composition, I do like all of the different lines and layers. My tendency would be to crop this in a 1x2 format as that is what the dunes seem to call for in my mind, but then you lose the most interesting foreground and clouds. Perhaps a lower position would have allowed you to create a more cohesive image. It's hard to tell without being there. Crystal, this really is a good image and one that most people will probably rave over. We're trying to be picky as we know that your desire is to continue to grow in your photography. With continued practice you'll start turning these opportunities into amazing images, you're well on your way.
Erik - thank you for weighing in! Do you do a lot of exposure blending or do you take single images that are slightly underexposed and then recover the shadows in Lightroom? I'll definitely pay more attention to my histogram next time - good point! And thanks for the criticism, I certainly appreciate it!