srjarratt
Morning Dunes by Grandagon 115mm on FP4+
My second shot at photographing sand dunes in early morning shadows. My first, "Morning Dunes by N75 on HP5," by pure beginners luck, was Explored on November 2, 2019 at No. 82.
This photo is an exercise in lessons learned. First up, the yellow filter exaggerated the annular gradient in the sky. Not a bad thing, but given the movements of the rest of the composition, I don't like it. The center foreground is overexposed - that is polarized light blowing it out. Maybe a polarizing filter is in order to control that. That could control the annular gradient in the sky too. I got to the scene late, was rushed because the shadows would soon disappear, so didn't take my time to properly compose the scene - it is lopsided to the left. I'm not happy with the exaggerated perspective either. It's not necessarily a bad thing with sand dunes, I just don't like it in this instance.
The sand is extremely soft, so bits of plywood, cardboard, old plates, those things that Costco salads come in are needed to stabilize the legs of the tripod. I had none of that, so setting up the tripod/camera was a sporty thing.
I shot another photo of the dunes after this one, but somehow didn't properly set the sheet film holder in the camera and ruined the shot with a light leak.
The next time I go to this place, I'm going to get there about an hour before sunrise, take all three 4x5 view cameras, three tripods, and take my time taking photos. The place is mostly a big sandbox with only a few actual dunes. The nice thing is that this time of year it isn't too terribly hot, as Mesquite Flat is now, it is relatively close, only an hour and half to get there for me, and it has no restrictions on driving vehicles in the sand.
Calumet 4x5
Rodenstock Grandagon-N ƒ6.8 115mm
Ilford FP4+
Microphen
Explored August 13, 2020 Number 241.
Morning Dunes by Grandagon 115mm on FP4+
My second shot at photographing sand dunes in early morning shadows. My first, "Morning Dunes by N75 on HP5," by pure beginners luck, was Explored on November 2, 2019 at No. 82.
This photo is an exercise in lessons learned. First up, the yellow filter exaggerated the annular gradient in the sky. Not a bad thing, but given the movements of the rest of the composition, I don't like it. The center foreground is overexposed - that is polarized light blowing it out. Maybe a polarizing filter is in order to control that. That could control the annular gradient in the sky too. I got to the scene late, was rushed because the shadows would soon disappear, so didn't take my time to properly compose the scene - it is lopsided to the left. I'm not happy with the exaggerated perspective either. It's not necessarily a bad thing with sand dunes, I just don't like it in this instance.
The sand is extremely soft, so bits of plywood, cardboard, old plates, those things that Costco salads come in are needed to stabilize the legs of the tripod. I had none of that, so setting up the tripod/camera was a sporty thing.
I shot another photo of the dunes after this one, but somehow didn't properly set the sheet film holder in the camera and ruined the shot with a light leak.
The next time I go to this place, I'm going to get there about an hour before sunrise, take all three 4x5 view cameras, three tripods, and take my time taking photos. The place is mostly a big sandbox with only a few actual dunes. The nice thing is that this time of year it isn't too terribly hot, as Mesquite Flat is now, it is relatively close, only an hour and half to get there for me, and it has no restrictions on driving vehicles in the sand.
Calumet 4x5
Rodenstock Grandagon-N ƒ6.8 115mm
Ilford FP4+
Microphen
Explored August 13, 2020 Number 241.