Red Planet
This is a four-image HDR photo taken at California's Imperial Dunes during sunset.
This is a four-image HDR photo taken at California's Imperial Dunes during sunset.
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Apr, 2012Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in California's Imperial Dunes, on the border of California and Arizona.Time
As soon as the sun set over the dunes.Lighting
Available light was used to create this image.Equipment
This shot was taken with a Canon T3i with Canon's EF-S 10-22mm lens.Inspiration
I have always been inspired by the dunes and their ever changing landscape. What I loved most about shooting here is that one of my all-time favorite movies from my youth was filmed at this particular location, Star Wars, Return of the Jedi. The off-road vehicles in the photo just added an the icing on the cake, putting the vastness of these geographical marvels into perspective, as well as reminded me of the futuristic vehicles used in the creation of the movie.Editing
In order to bring out the light throughout the photo with the sun setting, I used 5 bracketed images and processed them into an HDR image using Photomatix Pro. From there I increased the contrast in the image by bringing the HDR into Lightroom to give it the feel of being taken on another world.In my camera bag
Currently the camera body of choice I always carry with me is the Canon 5D MIII, with the 5D MII on standby. Lenses range from the Canon 24-105 f/4L, Canon 70-200 f/2.8L USM II, Canon 100mm f/2.8L MACRO and the trusty Canon EF 1.4. For stability I always carry my Oben tripod and ball head as well remote shutter release. I also never leave the house with my B+W circular polarizer and UV filter.Feedback
The best advice to capture an image such as this, in this particular location is to pick a time of year where dunes enthusiasts are at a minimum. The Imperial Dunes are a very popular location for off-road vehicles so summer months, though extremely hot, are ideal where tracks from vehicles are not present and other, unwanted subjects are in the scene. Second is to know the location within the dunes you would like to shoot by doing some recon prior to trekking off into sand. Third, know to the minute and location the sun will set in order to be ready and waiting for the right moment to begin releasing the shutter. Finally, for shooting in HDR, choose your focal point wisely, get it set, turn off auto focus and prepare your camera for bracketing. Since this is a 5 image HDR and the camera is only capable of bracketing three exposures at one time, be very careful when adjusting the final bracket settings so the camera does not move. HDR processing software does a great job aligning images, but its never perfect, so the less the camera is touched, the better chance the images will align and give you the final product you desire. It can never be stressed enough that when shooting any landscape photography that you have a very solid base to help eliminate camera shake.
