We had a great idea, doing a sunrise and sunset session at
Sand Dunes National Monument. The sunrise session went well. The sunset was looking very promising…until we got there. We had a large cloud roll in, and like a big diffuser, the light went pretty flat. So much for our dramatic shadows and glorious sunset colors. No matter, we aren’t easily discouraged and when we have our cameras in our hands we just can’t help ourselves.

I got out a newer lens that I hadn’t had much time to play with. To say that it’s a large prime is an understatement, but it has such great subject isolation and bokeh, and as you can see on the dunes, really great perspective compression. Even with the flat light, the shapes and curves of the dunes are compelling. We all found our spots to shoot and went for it. This is one of the images I got. With the wind blowing so hard, you can see the sand blowing across the surface of the sand, which softens some of the curves and gives a nice effect. We did have some dramatic clouds, just not the sunset light we had hoped for. Nevertheless, they are a nice contrast to the color of the sand. This was taken with a 200mm f/2 lens on my Nikon D3s, which I am falling deeply in love with. Love this lens too. More to come.