A Little Before Sunrise at White Sands

[GB1]

Another image of White Sands NM, a little before sunrise. One can only wonder how good this shot might have been without all those footprints in the sand ..

This shot was taken with a Mamiya 645 camera on Kodak 100VS film.

G

[hminx]

This would look cool with two moons

[GB1]

Pete - two moons?

[hminx]

Yeah as in another planet, then you could wonder at what lifeforms made those marks in the sand

[armando_m]

Pete had a few beers before coming into PR ... ?

wonderful shades of blue
it is all about simplicity
without foot prints it would have been pristine

[GB1]

Yes, there was almost no wind at all those two days and that night; great for not getting sand blown in your face or on your equipment, but terrible for footprints because the the wind is the only thing that removes them.

I think the only way to ensure you don't have footprints is to walk WAAAAY into the dunes, far from the road, where no one in their right mind would go. Problem is, you may never find your way back(!), or may collapse from exhaustion on the hike...

[XbinData]

The colors of the sky are wonderful. Wonder what it would look like with the sand in the foreground slightly brighter to stand out a bit more.

[mattb]

It's a nice photo but it doesn't jump out at me. I like the moon but including more dunes would have given it more context IMO. This patch of sand could be a lot of places.

[geraldb]

Maybe a vertical crop is worth exploring to eliminate some of the dead space. The colors are not clear and run together because of the blue overcast, some color correction needed. I think it needs to be brighter as well.

[Greg McCary]

I think it needs another element. Enlarge the moon some. I have extra shots of the moon stored on the old hard drive just to add when needed.

[GB1]

Funny how this thread came back to life

XbinData, Yes, it would be great if there were a little more contrast. I think that the only way the sand could be brighter would be via artificial illumination. Not sure how to do that here.

Matt, yeah, the fact that it's at White Sands is inconsequential. It actually looks like a beach pic to me ,as the background looks a little like the ocean and the haze is just like we have here in San Diego (at first, I thought it WAS a beach shot .. only later did I realize it was WS ).

geraldb, will consider a crop. Not sure where to do it though, as the moon is close to the top of the frame and there's not a whole lot of sand. A portrait format would be daring, but I think it may lose something there, and there may not be enough in the scene to draw you in. The tonality is definitely very even here. The image is like I remember the scene, as I took this one when it was still pretty dark. Regarding the blue cast, it was taken with Kodak Ektachrome which always leans towards the blues (this film is on its way out by the way, for Kodak has pulled the plug on all their slide films). I guess I could color correct it, but .. why mess with a work of slide-film art?

Greg, totally agree, this one definitely seems sparse. And not in a really good way either. It needs something. Thanks for the suggestion on the moon, but I don't think that would solve it either. This is just a weird shot that really doesn't have a whole in it, but still has some strange attraction (at least to desert lovers like me).

G

[hminx]

Pete had a few beers before coming into PR ... ?

Pfft.........

[geraldb]

The image got only two elements. The moon and a sand dune, the sky serve's as a background because nothin much is going on in it. When I first looked at it I was overwhelmed by the space created by the size.
If it is Kodak, it is perfect, I just hope you don't take a lead in their business too, lol.

[Lava Lamp]

This could be where they filmed the fake moon landing pawned off on the unsuspecting public.





Just kidding. Nice image. I'm impressed by how you jump back and forth between landscapes and people, producing great results. Most of us tend to be better at one or the other.

[GB1]

Thks fellows. Looks like a big sand box huh?

geraldb, yeah I think the expanse of the negative space is it here. Since the Mamiya medium format takes big pix , it was only appropriate to publish it big. I really like that Mamiya lens btw.. none of my other lenses (including the Nikons) can match it.

Lava, thks, though I think I have a long ways to go with the models! Learning poses for them, lighting, composition, etc. is not second nature to me like scenic/landscape photography. I'm taking the summer off from my other stuff to focus () on photography and artwork, trying to exit out of the plateau I found myself in: so far, it's helping.

Pete, beer, or missing glasses

g