Steve Knight
About the Image(s)
This image was taken in Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado on late November evening last year. I only had a couple of hours to visit due to another commitment an, of course, the lighting for what I wanted to accomplish was awful that day. This was shot from just off the entrance road to the park with a Canon 6D and a Canon EF100-400 f/4.5-5.6L IS USM lens set at 200mm. As I was shooting handheld, I set the ISO at 400 to get a very fast shutter speed due to the f11 aperture I was using. The shutter speed was 1/1250 sec.
Though I knew what I wanted the final black and white image to look like, I've struggled to get there as the lighting was so flat. I converted the original to B&W in Photoshop using a B&W adjustment layer, then played around with a levels adjustment layer to get the image close. Back in Lightroom I did a bit of burning and dodging using numerous radial filters and some selective nurturing with a texture brush. If anyone has any additional advice, please lay it on me.
This round’s discussion is now closed!
8 comments posted
The sand is not real. In would never know that it was sand. I think each of the three areas should be treated in different layers. Each requires different setting of contrast.   Posted: 05/04/2020 09:53:03
Your image is wonderful, and it is possible to print it in many different ways.   Posted: 05/06/2020 12:33:05
  Posted: 05/06/2020 15:26:09
I do agree that the work you have done has turned the sand into a form that would appear if a dragon had breathed fire on it. Both alternatives work in their own way but I do wonder if having that small touch of the sky gives the viewer a touch more of reality.   Posted: 05/17/2020 06:38:49
As done by some of us, there are many options to treat the image. It depends on everyone's sensibility. However, I think on each case we have to keep the structure of the tree and its leaves, so not too dark.
I like the "of course, the light was awful".... I like the comment (the "of course"...), not the fact the light was awful... We also need some luck to take pictures...   Posted: 05/26/2020 01:54:59