<<< o >>>desert tracks #3 28 comments + add yours
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This is probably the last of the shots I'll be posting from my recent trip to the desert near Dubai and while it doesn't portray the same sense of scale as my previous two 'desert tracks' images, I am pleased with it. Like desert tracks #2, this one was also processed almost entirely in Camera Raw (with just some minor cloning and sharpening in CS4).

On a totally different matter: as many of you know, Libby (my wife) has been away for almost the last eight weeks – she returned to the UK to give birth to our latest daughter – but she'll be home again tomorrow. We're driving to the airport in a little over 24 hours to pick her up, and I'll be taking some shots of Tegan (our newborn) over the next few days. It's been a long time since I photographed a newborn baby :)

captured
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4.57pm on 20/11/09
Canon 5D Mark II
EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM
57mm
f/4.5
1/80
aperture priority
+1/3
evaluative
100
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3x2 + travel [Dubai, UAE]
comment by The Obvious at 06:25 AM (GMT) on 2 December, 2009

Very unique. I think I prefer this to all the other ones.

comment by keith at 06:27 AM (GMT) on 2 December, 2009

but you've had some previous experience with baby photos

yea like the dunes here

comment by Eugene at 06:28 AM (GMT) on 2 December, 2009

Great shot. I love the contrast here. The composition had me scanning my eyes from bottom to top right. This is nature's serpentine, to be sure.

comment by Delisha at 07:42 AM (GMT) on 2 December, 2009

Very unique. I love it.

comment by Tero at 07:55 AM (GMT) on 2 December, 2009

The shapes and lines are incredible. Abstract, but not too abstract for my taste.

comment by Marcello at 08:44 AM (GMT) on 2 December, 2009

Always the same taste...

comment by Megha at 08:55 AM (GMT) on 2 December, 2009

Perfect...

comment by Mirko Herzner at 09:05 AM (GMT) on 2 December, 2009

Wonderful shot. I really like those waves and the toning. Congrats on your baby...

comment by Stephen at 09:11 AM (GMT) on 2 December, 2009

I love the way the high contrast bottom left moving to the lower contrast top right leads you through the frame in addition to the ridge itself. Can't tell if it is noise or the texture of the sand in the darker areas - but either way it works.

comment by silfver at 11:07 AM (GMT) on 2 December, 2009

This one is in my opition definitely the best one of your desert track shots. Incredible! I love the little waves crossing the image plane diagonally. Then there's small waves in the top as well. And the toning is perfect. Great work david!

comment by Andy at 12:20 PM (GMT) on 2 December, 2009

Love the photograph! Nothing else meaningful to say. Well done.

Congratulations on Tegan. Also well done. :)

comment by Dan Kaufman at 03:05 PM (GMT) on 2 December, 2009

very sculptural

(remember to re-read that famous book on Baby Photography (as a re-fresher tutorial)
http://www.amazon.com/Baby-Photography-NOW-Shooting-Portraits/dp/1600592112 )

comment by Jason at 03:48 PM (GMT) on 2 December, 2009

Fantastic shot! + Very Original.... :)

comment by Michael Rawluk at 04:24 PM (GMT) on 2 December, 2009

That is stunning. I love the composition and gorgeous tones.

comment by Al at 04:51 PM (GMT) on 2 December, 2009

Just the right amount of sharpening on this one David. Did you convert to B&W and tone it all in Camera Raw?

comment by Roy at 05:20 PM (GMT) on 2 December, 2009

Beautiful dunes Dave, just right.
I love the lack of a real sense of scale actually.

comment by Carlos Garcia at 08:11 PM (GMT) on 2 December, 2009

Love the processing of light and shadow... beautiful. Can't wait to see Tegan on chromasia :)

comment by Nicolas Beaumont at 12:06 PM (GMT) on 4 December, 2009

Excellent shot, the softness become a reality.

comment by Rob at 03:44 PM (GMT) on 6 December, 2009

Super shot and lovely.

comment by Thomas at 10:34 PM (GMT) on 6 December, 2009

Like the diagonal and the gradients in this image. Great!

comment by djn1 at 07:57 AM (GMT) on 7 December, 2009

Thanks everyone.

comment by chiara at 05:55 PM (GMT) on 7 December, 2009

Beautiful!!!!

comment by catherine at 09:45 PM (GMT) on 7 December, 2009

lovely texture ; could almost feel the sand through my fingers...

comment by Jennifer at 10:33 PM (GMT) on 7 December, 2009

Fab - a huge canvas is called for!

comment by Beau Mitchell at 12:05 AM (GMT) on 11 December, 2009

I'm not usually a fan of abstract type photos, but this one really grabs me. In fact, I thought, "Wow!", when I first saw it. The way the light is hitting the dune is fantastic and the composition you have used draws my eye through the scene wonderfully. I could imagine this would look great printed out nice and large.

comment by desfocado at 04:05 PM (GMT) on 12 December, 2009

To remind us how ephemeral life is.

comment by CJaM at 12:32 AM (GMT) on 13 December, 2009

Very good texture / arty / B&W treatment. Would be a nice large print.

comment by Mrs Trellis at 02:25 PM (GMT) on 14 December, 2009

You have great patience, it must have taken ages for the donkeys to get out of the shot.