Stranger in a Strange Land - White Sands National Monument

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SonoranDesert

SonoranDesert

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Since taking up photography I’ve spent the majority of my time learning to shoot Nature, particularly birds and BIF. ”Seeing” and then “shooting” landscapes, for me, has been eye-opening. I truly felt like a stranger in a strange land…I was, to say the least, overwhelmed with the possibilities...a new appreciation.
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SonoranDesert said:
Since taking up photography I’ve spent the majority of my time learning to shoot Nature, particularly birds and BIF. ”Seeing” and then “shooting” landscapes, for me, has been eye-opening. I truly felt like a stranger in a strange land…I was, to say the least, overwhelmed with the possibilities...a new appreciation.
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Love these shots!. Need to go see sometime. If you like colored sands, sometime check out Coral sands state park in Utah near Bryce and Zion. I would post but all on slides and haven't converted to share but sands are red brown as you could imagine in Utah with all the red sandstone! Check on internet to see if interesting to you. Haven't been there in 10 yrs.
 
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KurtT said:
Love these shots!. Need to go see sometime. If you like colored sands, sometime check out Coral sands state park in Utah near Bryce and Zion. I would post but all on slides and haven't converted to share but sands are red brown as you could imagine in Utah with all the red sandstone! Check on internet to see if interesting to you. Haven't been there in 10 yrs.
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Thanks Kurt. Thanks for pointing out Coral Sands SP. It looks amazing. I’m headed to Valley of Fire in Nevada in Feb. I may have to add that to my itinerary. So many places to explore. I hope you find some time to convert your slides so you can post.
 
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SonoranDesert said:
Thanks Kurt. Thanks for pointing out Coral Sands SP. It looks amazing. I’m headed to Valley of Fire in Nevada in Feb. I may have to add that to my itinerary. So many places to explore. I hope you find some time to convert your slides so you can post.
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Not been there but I have been by it. Enjoy. Hopefully good weather.
 
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Nice set of images. Interesting to see what catches the eye of other photographers. I tell people all the time that I shoot wildlife because it is easier than landscape and they think I'm joking. But it's true. There are a lot of decisions to make with landscapes. And no excuses. It's just sitting there in front of us and up to us how to capture it. With wildlife we don't have control. We just capture what's offered.
 
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NorthernFocus said:
Nice set of images. Interesting to see what catches the eye of other photographers. I tell people all the time that I shoot wildlife because it is easier than landscape and they think I'm joking. But it's true. There are a lot of decisions to make with landscapes. And no excuses. It's just sitting there in front of us and up to us how to capture it. With wildlife we don't have control. We just capture what's offered.
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@NorthernFocus …you are so right! You described my experience to a “T”. And I’m happy you like the set.
 
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Nice set of shots, Lisa. I don't know why exactly; but I'm really drawn to the 3rd one.

NorthernFocus said:
Nice set of images. Interesting to see what catches the eye of other photographers. I tell people all the time that I shoot wildlife because it is easier than landscape and they think I'm joking. But it's true. There are a lot of decisions to make with landscapes. And no excuses. It's just sitting there in front of us and up to us how to capture it. With wildlife we don't have control. We just capture what's offered.
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This describes my experience perfectly.

While I think I'm not doing too bad at occasionally getting a semi-decent wildlife shot; landscapes are always a struggle. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I tend to massively overthink them (which you don't get the time for in wildlife obviously). The more complicated you try to make it, the more mistakes you can introduce and end up making things worse. Also, I just don't do it often enough (I probably shoot wildlife 90% of the times I go out).

So from my point of view, landscape photography is absolutely more difficult than wildlife. Absolutely respect the skillset of people who can consistently capture scenes in such a way that it immediately draws the eye in (I certainly can't).
 
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"There are no straight lines or sharp corners in nature" Antonio Gaudi. Particularly like the patterns, the textures, all the non-straight lines of the third image. Also really like the subtle colors and shadowing. You don't rely on super saturated colors. My photography evolution is very similar to yours and the other in this thread. Thank you for bringing that into focus. Very, very nice!
 
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Jmaes said:
Nice set of shots, Lisa. I don't know why exactly; but I'm really drawn to the 3rd one.



This describes my experience perfectly.

While I think I'm not doing too bad at occasionally getting a semi-decent wildlife shot; landscapes are always a struggle. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I tend to massively overthink them (which you don't get the time for in wildlife obviously). The more complicated you try to make it, the more mistakes you can introduce and end up making things worse. Also, I just don't do it often enough (I probably shoot wildlife 90% of the times I go out).

So from my point of view, landscape photography is absolutely more difficult than wildlife. Absolutely respect the skillset of people who can consistently capture scenes in such a way that it immediately draws the eye in (I certainly can't).
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Thank you very much Jochen! The 3rd shot was particularly interesting to me. It was like having a blank and full palette all at the same time…a bit dizzying. Your experience with shooting landscape hit the nail on the head. Thanks for sharing your perspective.
 
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MalcolmP said:
"There are no straight lines or sharp corners in nature" Antonio Gaudi. Particularly like the patterns, the textures, all the non-straight lines of the third image. Also really like the subtle colors and shadowing. You don't rely on super saturated colors. My photography evolution is very similar to yours and the other in this thread. Thank you for bringing that into focus. Very, very nice!
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Hi Malcolm, I love that quote! I feel honored to be included as an example of your photography evolution. As for colors and shadowing - I’m trying to stay true to the feelings and visuals I had at the time rather than what I’d like it to be. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Cheers.
 
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ElenaH said:
absolutely! and you are doing it perfectly! (y) As the others said already: you have an eye! or you feel the composition! I like all images but expecially I love how you placed the green bush in #4. Excellent, Lisa! I hope, we will se more landscapes from you :)
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Hello Elena, it’s the information and encouragement from members of this forum that have given me confidence to try new and different things. Thank you very much for that. In addition, I get to “see” how others “see” the world. It is eye-opening to say the least. 😲 Happiest New Year to you!
 
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Very good photos, Lisa. They make me want to visit White Sands to see it and photograph it myself. Not that I think I could do better than you have, though!
 
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Whiskeyman said:
Very good photos, Lisa. They make me want to visit White Sands to see it and photograph it myself. Not that I think I could do better than you have, though!
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Hey thanks, Wayne. Once you go you’ll want to go again and again……
I’d LOVE to see what you “see” at WS. It’s a beautiful and ever-changing place.
 
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