Friday Photo #2

Dunes at Sunrise

Another shot from my big Rockies trip in 2006. This is taken at Great Sand Dunes National Park in southern Colorado. The sand dunes are formed in a pocket of the Sangre de Cristo range. Winds pick up sand as they cross the wide San Luis valley, dropping it as they funnel into the mountains. The dune field actually seems small in some ways. It's about 8 miles long, which isn't tiny, but you can view the whole thing from Hwy 17. The dunes themselves are massive, ranging up to 750 feet tall (above ground level).

I visited GSDNP early in my trip. I consciously had no agenda, but had headed south through Colorado Springs simply because I hadn't seen much of that part of the state. So that put me close to the dunes. They are known as a 'major photographic opportunity,' but this actually made me reluctant to visit as they're so commonly photographed. But since I was in the area I definitely wanted to visit one of the newest national parks. And I'm glad I did, because the photography really is spectacular.

I spent about a day there. I arrived in the afternoon, set up camp in the campground, and took a photos at sunset. I then arose early and hiked into the dunes at sunrise for more photography. Sunset is probably the better photographic opportunity, because the dunes are all about shadow. With the Sangre de Cristo range just east of the dunes, and the wide San Luis valley to the west, the horizon is much lower at sunset and you would get more dramatic shadows as a result. Still the morning photos are quite dramatic as well and I'm very happy with what I got.

The photos are all very good but probably not quite great. This one is a fine example. It has major lines angling down left-to-right, including the mountain skyline and the edge of the dunes. These are balanced by the strong dark shadowed dune which angles up left-to-right at the bottom of the composition. The weakest element is the washed-out blue sky; I left very little of it in the frame for that reason.

I love the wide range of textures and lines in the sand, leavened with just a bit of green scrub that highlights the barren dunes. The forested mountains in the background provide another contrast to set off the sand, and I think I'll try to bring out the green of the pines just a bit in the final print. (Have to be careful though, as the distance haze adds an important sense of the depth of the scene.)

I might also try this in black and white. Dune photos are a staple of B&W as they have such dramatic shadows and textures. Still, I'm concerned that losing the green of the scrub will change the impact of the sand.

I remember that as a wonderful morning for photography. I felt calm and relaxed, yet excited too. The excitement is a difficult element to balance in my photography, because too much leads me to rush and miss important things. Shoots like this that depend on 'magic hour' light require some haste, yet it's all wasted if I don't take the time to look for the less obvious opportunities. That morning, I was well balanced, and that led to photos I'm really happy with.