...New Mexico.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v382/redboys/White-Sands227.jpg

This is incredibly beautiful. I love the contrast of the sky with the sand, and the texture of the sand is just unbelievable.

...New Mexico.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v382/redboys/White-Sands227.jpg

Jeepers. So glad you left the Tri X at home...

cracking photo...............................

...........feels a little bit cold though, or maybe thats just my monitor.

detail and composition is great, and the pic is very sharp

great stuff

cheers
anew.

Hey Tuna,

You and Gary could once in a while post something that we can critique rather than perfection.

Great job - I love the sand the sky and the bush such detail such excellent colour and terrific composition

Tuna, you have captured a very beautiful landscape here. The contrast in colors is wonderful, as well as the contrast of green vegitation thriving in the sandy desert Your exposure looks dead on to me, to keep all that wonderful detail in the sand. I would love to know what settings you used for this, as well as film and anything else you can tell us. Did you use a polarizer to get that sky so blue?

Beautifu pic!

Holy Makinaw!!!!!

I don't know what to say Tuna, but wow. Wow!!! I love it. Great shot. Ok, enough.

Seriously, I'd put this in the top 10 I've seen on this site. easily. even though the sky is a bit too saturated. nevertheless, this is great! and I'm glad there aren't any foot steps on that sand.

Love it!

Hey Tuna,

You and Gary could once in a while post something that we can critique rather than perfection.

Great job - I love the sand the sky and the bush such detail such excellent colour and terrific composition

Don't listen to him, you and Gary give me mucho inspiration!

As always Master Tuna its a great scene, color sharpness they all come togheter in this on . Great capture :)

I pulled this from the discarded pile (from my White Sands trip - "Picnic In The Desert" was the only one I posted from that trip). However everyone who sees it likes it so I decided to post it. I'm glad you've all had a generally positive reaction to it. As to questions about the sky - no Polarizer, just the saturation of Velvia, slightly underexposed. Also, this was shot with my Contax T2 which tends to show some vignetting when fully closed down (which consequently darkens some edges/corners) and this would have been shot around 1/500 at f/16.

Tuna

What brillant colors!!
Interesting composition too!
I like line of the clouds. I like how they flow over the bush.
Excellent texture in the sand.
Brian

Fantastic capture. I like this.
A+

Hello Tuna
I honestly have to say that this shot does very little for me. No doubt there is a Wow factor here but I think that may be because of the 'in your face' colours only. Technically fine but compositionwise I think it is lacking. I think another presence is needed here, be it human, animal or mineral.
I would be interested to know why you decided to discard it in the first place.
Tom

Hello Tuna
I honestly have to say that this shot does very little for me. No doubt there is a Wow factor here but I think that may be because of the 'in your face' colours only. Technically fine but compositionwise I think it is lacking. I think another presence is needed here, be it human, animal or mineral.
I would be interested to know why you decided to discard it in the first place.
Tom

Thank you for the continued comments, guys.

Tom, very interesting question. I took the shot due to the ability to get a low perspective that would allow the bush to be framed by the clouds at top. I remember standing in 100-105 degree temperatures waiting and positioning until things looked good, taking the picture then dashing to my already idling, air-conditioned car. The other theme I would have been interested in would have been to show the survival of this bush in beautiful but brutal conditions. However, I don't believe the brutality of it's surroundings comes through in the shot.

You are correct in that it has the "WOW" or "POP" factor due to the saturation and contrast of colors, the uniqueness of the subject, etc. And I do like it for those things but I tend to always look for something else, something different in my images. Though I may take a "pretty" picture, if I don't sense in having captured another level of interpretation or nuance, I will often pass it by. In contrast, I am posting one of my favorite shots from this visit to the desert - "Picnic In The Desert" as example to what I mean. In my opinion, the absurdity level and alien-like appearance of this image adds substantially to colors, composition, etc. to take it to another level.

Thanks again,
Tuna

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v382/redboys/PicnicInDesert237.jpg

Yes Tuna; this photograph covers all your words in your final paragraph. I remember it from a while back soon after I joined the forum. I think in the past I have described your photographs as always giving us a glimpse of two worlds or something to that effect. They stand up to repeated viewing and questioning and generally have a stamp of originality.
Tom

GO TUNA!
I like it and for me the sky pops!
I may haved cropped off some to the foreground, but that would be to make the sky more dominate.

Nice one!

You always amaze me Master Tuna , do you do this as a hoby or is this your profession ? :)

do you do this as a hoby or is this your profession ? :)

Knight, I have worked in the photographic field, including as a photographer, for over 30 years. However, I would consider the images I post on this forum as my hobby though I try to look on it as art, as do most who post here, to advance my skills in the aesthetic aspects.

Tuna

Tuna, almost missed this one, glad i didn't. Its an excellent composition as you captured this in a way that makes it look odd, in a good way. I found your reply to Tom an interesting one. You have certain expectations for your scenes and in the way that you choose to compose them, and thats what puts your images on another level. I agree that the " Picnic in the Desert" is the stronger shot ( although others may think otherwise} but I certainly do not feel this shot is one to be discarded. Great work as usual. There is one thing that I would point out, and it might just be me as no one else seemed to mention it. . .but the image seems to have a slight cast. The sky is a beautiful deep blue, but i sense a slight bluish cast in the sand as well. When given an auto levels adj. the white in the sand comes out and the cast removed. Pops even more. Good shot Tuna, even your "bad" ones are good.

There is one thing that I would point out, and it might just be me as no one else seemed to mention it. . .but the image seems to have a slight cast. The sky is a beautiful deep blue, but i sense a slight bluish cast in the sand as well. When given an auto levels adj. the white in the sand comes out and the cast removed. Pops even more. Good shot Tuna, even your "bad" ones are good.

Thank you for your comments, Gary. Your seasoned printer's eye has seen the flaw and defined the cure. After auto-adjust, I still saw some magenta and added a little green to balance that out. It certainly cleaned things up from the original post.

Corrected version at top, original post at the bottom.

Thanks again,
Tuna

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v382/redboys/WhiteSandsX.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v382/redboys/White-Sands227X.jpg

So unTuna, but so very nice. Great colors and contrast. Love your framing as usual.

Great Tuna, a subtle difference and definite improvement. Well done