this is crazy .. its almost like an optical illusion which goes very well with your title ..
that nearer 'pond' with the sand above it looks almost like they are on the same plane or something .. the sand looks like its hanging over the water ... i'm sure you would be able to explain this affect a LOT better than me .. i love it when things make me do a double take ...
the other thing .. when i first looked at this and the smoothness of the water i thought slow shutter speed .. and i was wrong .. thanks for the camera settings .. ;)
anyway .. congrats on coming in the top ten .. the colours and the sky are magic btw .. great image .. :)
This is something from Dali in your shot. Cloud in the form of heron is peaking out from the right, sand dune looks like it's hanging in the air, colors are surreal...Awesome!