#mount herard

[thorsenmark]

Let Me Mount on Wings and Sail (Black & White, Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A conversion to black & white using Silver Efex Pro 2 where I made some adjustments to color filters to bring out a much richer tonal contrast for the final image.

[4cornersphoto]

Sand Dunes and Mount Herard, Great Sand Dunes National Park by 4 Corners Photo Via Flickr: A strong spring wind blows sand across the dunes with Mount Herard rising in the distance at Great Sand Dunes National Park in Alamosa County, Colorado.

[thorsenmark]

Dried Up Medano Creek with Sand Dunes and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains (Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A view looking to the north while I was walking across the dried up Medano Creek in Great Sand Dunes National Park. With this image, I decided to get down lower and also angle my Nikon SLR camera slightly downward. My thinking was to have that sweeping view across the dried up creek bed before coming to the sand dunes and mountains off in the distance. I also had to choose a focal point about a third up the image to have more in focus with a closed down aperture. I felt that the sweeping view would allow anyone who had walked across this creek to appreciate just how long of a walk it truly is across that sand.

[thorsenmark]

The Wind Blew Across the Prairie Grasses Until It Came To the Mountains (Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A view looking to the north across desert grassland to the great sand dunes and Sangre de Cristo Mountains.

[thorsenmark]

The Wind Was Blowing Strong That Day (Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: The Wind Was Blowing Strong That Day It swept across the sands, Stinging any open skin on hikers alike No definitive lines across the dunes As I walked on a hazy outline made from others All inhaled the sands in the air, Perhaps with even a cough in these pandemic times Oh, those views up high Mountains as far as I could see So this is High Dune; what a wonder it truly is! Another work of short poetry or prose to complement the image captured one morning in Great Sand Dunes National Park while on a hike down from High Dune. This was a view looking to the northeast while standing on a high point sand dune ridge where I had a vista-like view to the Sangre de Cristo Range off in the distance. I like how the sand dune ridges added a layered look to the image. I also liked how the more earth tones of the sand dunes were that complement and color contrast to the blues and greens present in the mountains and skies above.

[thorsenmark]

I Hope To Never Peak My Desire for Exploration! (Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: In the later afternoon hours while walking across some of the lower elevation sand dunes in this portion of the national park. The view is looking generally to the northwest across some nearby sand ridges to mountain peaks of the Sangre de Cristo Range Range off in the distance. Composing the image was just a matter of finding that focal length that allowed me to capture the sweeping view across the sands to the distant mountains. Finding the right shutter speed involved a little more work to ensure I didn't blow any highlights but still was able to pull out the more shadowed areas. For me, there appeared to be a large dynamic range when it came to metering this setting.