SENSE OF SCALE

Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado

One of the reasons I wanted to go back to Great Sand Dunes National Park was the desire to create more photos with shapes, curves, and different light on the dunefield. Pretty soon I learned that including something that gives the viewer a sense of scale has a much bigger impact. A curve in the sand might be strong graphically spoken, but including an element we can relate to in size will tell the better story about the vastness of these dunes. In the first image the grass and bushes play this role while in the second picture the people climbing to the top give you the sense of size, distance, and altitude.

A few days before our arrival the sand dunes had obviously a little snow. The dark bands at some of the edges are from melted water. Overall the sand was very firm in most places and much easier to climb than seven years ago. At an altitude of 8900 feet (2700 m) we and our little dog Cooper were happy about every step we didn’t have to make twice on the way up…😉

All images: Nikon D750, Nikkor 70-200mm / f4,

TURNING THE HEAD

Mount Herard from Piñion Flat Campground, Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado

When you take your eyes away from the dune field of Great Sand Dunes National Park in the west and turn your head north towards Mount Herard (13279 ft / 4,053 m) you have another stunning vista without moving a bit. There was some snow already the evening before but a little more had accumulated by the next morning. All what it took for this image was getting out of the sleeping bag and watch the fast development of the clouds that hugged the mountain. These mountains are not in the national park but are part of the Great Sand Dunes National Preserve. 

Nikon D750, Nikkor 70-200mm / f4,   @ 112 mm, 1/500 s, f/8, ISO100

BACK IN THE GREAT SAND DUNES

Dunefield at Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado

Hard to believe it has been seven years ago that we visited Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado. We always wanted to go back there and made the Piñon Flat Campground at the foot hills of the Sangre de Christo Mountains our base camp again this year. It is at an altitude of about 8200 ft (2500 m) and the dune field to the west is about 700 ft (215 m) higher. It is a fascinating place where wind and water move sand to continually form North America’s tallest dunes. The times around sunrise and sunset are the best to create photos of the sand dunes with shapes that are sharp and rich in contrast. Wild fires somewhere in the west gave the sky what I call a “dirty look” but the clouds over the horizon are priceless.

Nikon D750, Nikkor 24-120mm / f4,   @38 mm, 1/160 s, f/10, ISO100

TAKING A BREAK

Great Sand Dunes, Colorado, 2014

As every year I will take a break from posting here in my blog for a little while but you can be sure new photo adventures are just around the corner. We have never started our fall trip so late in the season but we are excited to see how this will play out. One of our first stops will be a location we have visited before, Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado. A fascinating place on earth but some other great locations further south are on our radar as well. Please stay tuned…

PREPARATION

Great Sand Dunes, Colorado, 2014

We still have a couple more weeks to go before our vacation starts. Beside getting all the camping and photo gear ready I try to prepare mentally for what I like to accomplish with the camera. I look at older photos and recall some of the great moments we had in past years. One morning at sunrise in Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado is definitely among my favorites. No, we don’t head out in this direction this year, but finding these memorable light situations and vantage points is always a top priority no matter where we go.