Returning to Phoenix from vacation in Colorado, I took a couple-hour detour to the Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve for a few photos. Lighting conditions weren't the best -- a good two hours ahead of sunset and the golden hour and the wind was blowing like crazy (40+mph gusts measured); sand was *everywhere* ... which made changing lenses a nightmare. Sure was beautiful though.
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Wow ... Having not participated in a challenge for months, I had high hopes for this one. Still, given the level of quality usually found in Free Studies, I never expected an HM (or even Top 10 finish) nor a 7+ avg. So many deserving photos ... it really is an honor.
Thanks to all for the comments and votes.
Special thanks to K10DGuy for his fantastic FSCE comment! Really outstanding contribution and compliment to the image.
Statistics
Place: 4 out of 394 Avg (all users): 7.1197 Avg (commenters): 7.8333 Avg (participants): 7.0594 Avg (non-participants): 7.2683 Views since voting: 3499 Views during voting: 269 Votes: 142 Comments: 24 Favorites: 10 (view)
Congrats on the 4th place and another 7+ ! New this would do well... adding the person for the perspective was brilliant - it is a great image even without that, but it just added that critical element. Well done.
These amazing dunes never cease to wow anyone who sees them. They are just unbelievably dramatic! This photo is so stunning! I absolutely LOVE the perspective you've shown with the shadowy human element. I meant to add it to my favorites in voting, but it is going straight there now :) Congratulations on 4th place!
7 - Good image and scene. Wish the figure had a more streamlined silhouette.. Perhaps a variation in cropping at the bottom too to eliminate that fore.. but fairly minor.
It has been my experiance here at dpc that photographs of sand dunes seem to score very well. I can not see this photograph being the exception. Having a person included just makes the shot. Good luck with this one.
For days he had trudged and traversed this desolate landscape. For days he had fought hunger and thirst as the savage sun beat down upon his cracked and blistered skin, as the air that was like a blast furnace dried out his throat and seared his lungs. For days he had crawled up the side of what he always feverishly dreamed was the final dune, the final ascent that his dreams and the beating heat of the sun always turned into the sight of a giant, sparkling lake. The end of his misery and torture.
As he approached the crest of this dune, his hopes crested as well, and were quickly destroyed once again. There was no lake. There was no end. There was no hope. His throat parched beyond recovery, his eyes too dry for tears, he let loose a soundless scream and collapsed to his knees in the sand.
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