JZeppelina

We The Dunes

Becoming an extension of the dune is the only way to be accepted by the desert.

Becoming an extension of the dune is the only way to be accepted by the desert.
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OLYMPUS E-M5MarkII

settings

Aperture f/11 ISO 200 Shutter 1/250 Focal Length 150/1

location

Morocco

Jan, 2020

Views

637

Likes

+54

Awards

Judge Favorite

Contest Finalist in Monthly Pro Photo Contest Volume8

Peer Award

Absolute Masterpiece

Top Choice

Superb Composition

All Star

Magnificent Capture

Outstanding Creativity

Emotions

Impressed

Top Ranks

Top 10 rank

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Top 10 rank week 2

Top 10 rank

Top 20 rank week 1

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Top 30 rank

Top 30 rank week 1

Top 20 rank

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Top 10 rank

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Behind The Lens

Location

I took this shot in Erg Chebbi dunes of Sahara desert, near Merzouga. My eye is always drawn to the minimalistic forms and lines and this view aligned with my vision just perfectly. Those people sitting on the top of the dune - I really have to thank them because they added a sense of scale to the composition.

Time

It was time of the golden hour, just after the sunrise. I got out of the tent at the blue hour and walked into the dunes just before sunrise to be ready for the right light.

Lighting

Morning light in the desert does magic to all the textures.

Equipment

For the desert shots I used Olympus M.Zuiko 40-150 mm f2.8 Pro with Olympus OMD EM-5 Mk II and NISI Soft Grad ND filter to darken the sky. It was an increadibly lightweight shooting kit, and although I did have my tripod with me, at that moment there was sufficient light for shooting handheld.

Inspiration

My love for minimalism, I believe. I just love finding it in landscapes and in city geometry.

Editing

First stage of processing was in Lightroom to optimize the colors and contrast, and further tuning was done in Photoshop where I worked with luminance masks to enhance the areas of brightest highlights and darkest shadows.

In my camera bag

Until recent time I was carrying 2 cameras in my bag, good old Oly EM-5 Mk II with telephoto lens 40-150mm f2.8 and Sony A7III with Sony 24-105 f4 lens. Now I fully switched to Sony and on most shoots my lens kit will be Sony lenses 24-105 mm f4, 70-200 mm f 2.8 and ultra wide angle Laowa 12 mm f2, plus a set of Soft Grad ND and solid ND NiSi filters as I tend to gravitate to long exposure shooting quite a bit. As a carryover from my Olympus days, all this fits into Manfrotto Advanced Travel Backpack and I also do carry a tripod with me, a lightweight carbon fibre Feisol Tournament CT-3442.

Feedback

For minimalistic landscapes telephoto lens often comes in very handy as it opens a different perspective and allows you to close up on elements of your interest. In the desert during different times of the year, weather can vary from warm to chill, from chill to cold, so it's important to consider the appropriate clothing. Times before sunrise and sunset, morning and evening golden hours, and night for astrophotography (away from the berber camp and with no light pollution) - those will be the shooting times. If may be possible to capture a beginning of the sandstorm, but as soon as the wind gets close, better hide your equipment from the sand. Sandstorm wind is ferocious, sand will be everywhere and can damage the camera equipment. Desert is very inspiring and tranquilising, in a way it lets you experience catarsis and reflect on many things differently. Travel and get inspired!

See more amazing photos, follow JZeppelina

JZeppelina

JZeppelina

We The Dunes

Becoming an extension of the dune is the only way to be accepted by the desert.

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow JZeppelina

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