“The first real snows filled the gaps in the dunes, drifted snow covering the drifted sand. A seasonal change” – Ed Lehming

I’ve been enjoying reviewing the images I made several days ago. That day brought some significant changes to an established photographic method and style. To get the images to communicate the nature of the environment, I had to change how I communicated as well.

As those who follow this blog will know, I previously spent a lot of time on forest trails, in somewhat subdued or diffused light. Photographing sand dunes in wide open spaces is much different in appearance and camera settings.

In this case, I wanted to communicate the bleak and windswept landscape, which I found was better accomplished by slightly overexposing the image. Yet, I still wanted to show the important details of the frozen water in the foreground while muting the dull sky. I’m not a fan of high-key images, so I pushed my exposure slightly as I shot the scene and made some subtle adjustments in post-processing to balance the winter tones. I also wanted to retain the details of the trees, which are a key element of the shot and are what drew me to the composition initially. I also did not want to lose the shadows, which add some sense of structure and depth to the image. It was a bunch of fine-tuning in post that yielded the final image.

I think it works, as when I look at it on my screen, I feel like I am looking at it live all over again.

Where I did struggle a bit was coming up with a title for the image. So, I went for a mental note of the location. As I walked the frozen shore, this was the first gap in a continuous line of sand dunes and what struck me initially about eh scene was the snow drifting between this gap. Nothing else resonated with me. I also realized that this is a closer shot of a previously posted image. Seeing things in new ways has been an interesting experience for me.

iPhone 14 Pro Max back triple camera 48mm
1/1953 sec, f/1.78, ISO 64