Mesquite Dunes Sunrise
A lovely sunrise lights up the prisitine dunes in Death Valley National Park,
A lovely sunrise lights up the prisitine dunes in Death Valley National Park,
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Nov, 2013Views
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Awards
Creative Winter Award
Legendary Award
2020 Choice Award
Featured
Contest Finalist in Deserts Photo Contest
Featured
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Peer Award
Outstanding Creativity
Exceptional Contrast
Magnificent Capture
Superior Skill
All Star
Jaw Dropping
Genius
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Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
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BrianBasson
December 20, 2013
Congrats with your feature. This is an awesome shot with great use of light and shadow. Brian
akhtarkhan
December 20, 2013
Awesome colours, light and shadows. amazing dune shapes, fantastic clouds formation with patterns......splendid capture. Congrats on the feature.
BowmanLifeStudios
December 20, 2013
Love the Golden Dunes and the clouds, such great contrast in colors between them. Great Composition and leading lines. The ridge line draws your eye in and keeps it moving thru the entire photograph taking you on a nice little journey through the picture, Great Job!
Platinum
mike_flood
January 04, 2014
I find this quite sensual. Not to sort of comment you'd get from someone who was raised in West Texas where piles of sand are very common.
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KarlWilliamsPhotography
February 11, 2015
Very difficult exposure conditions here, Brian, but you've managed to retain some shadow detail without blowing the all-important highlights.
carolyns
July 20, 2015
Stunning image! Love the contrasting colours and textures... The smoothness of the dunes against the lumpiness of the clouds.
Platinum
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
Death Valley National Park, CaliforniaTime
Just at sunriseLighting
There had been a large storm system filtering through the area for a few days, and the previous night had been quite windy. When we woke up to hike out to the dunes, there were large storm clouds everywhere, so the lighting looked to be muted at best for the duration of our shoot, but thankfully there happened to be a small opening on the horizon to let through some of the morning sun for a few moments.Equipment
I used a Canon 5D, 17-40L lens, Induro Tripod, and Singh-Ray 3-stop soft grad filter.Inspiration
The desert is a fascinating place…I think the simplicity of line and form in inspiring by itself…then the textures and way light plays with surfaces adds even more to the experience. I like environments that feel remote and isolated.Editing
I did the basic processing for this RAW file, color, sharpness, curves, and that's about it.In my camera bag
I have 2 camera bodies, and usually 3-4 lenses with me. A cable remote, a host of filters…a few cleaning things, some gloves, and usually some kind of emergency snack item.Feedback
My biggest piece of advice would be to just get out. Put yourself in as many good locations as you can, even when you think that conditions look grim. Often times the bad weather and miserable conditions will give way to something remarkable, and if you are stuck inside your tent, or hotel room…you'll miss them. I always try to look at it like, even in the worse case scenario I get to be outside practicing my craft…and the experience always makes you a better photographer, even if the images never pan out to anything.
