Spine of the Dune, a photo from Rajasthan, West

Photographer's Note

Sunset at the Sam Sand Dunes located at a distance of approximately 42 km from the city of Jaisalmer. Located in the midst of the Thar Desert, these sand dunes are amongst the most famous ones in Rajasthan.

The sun sets beyond the sands
As a large red ball of fire
Sinking below the distant horizon
The Dune waited, preparing to rest
Like a large prehistoric animal

I waited, sitting on it’s spine
Waited, for it to sing it’s last song
But all I heard was the whistle of the wind
The dune was resting.

Some technical stuff related to Dunes :-) - Once sand begins to pile up, ripples and dunes can form. Wind continues to move sand up to the top of the pile until the pile is so steep that it collapses under its own weight. The collapsing sand comes to rest when it reaches just the right steepness to keep the dune stable. This angle, usually about 30-34°, is called the angle of repose.

This happens to be my 200th Indian post! :-)

pastadog, ChrisJ, Fraipont, Gerrit, feather, Henryk_Bilor, plimrn, Bluejeans, siolaw, pierrefonds, riclopes, jafadabret, josepmarin, Felip, Dpbours, bakes888 heeft deze opmerking als nuttig gemarkeerd

Critiques | Translate

John_F_Kennedy (43797) 2008-08-19 1:15

Very great depth of this image with the dune in the middle. It looks like a beautiful place to visit and stroll for hours in the sand. Nice composition, well done.
Best wishes,
Achim

pastadog (13111) 2008-08-19 1:19

Hi Angshu - I believe that here it's all about those "tiny" people, giving a sense of scale, catching the eye, and rightly placed once our eyes are led all along the "spine". Clever shot, congratulations, Daniel

ChrisJ (171888) 2008-08-19 1:22

Hi Angshuman

Marvellous texture with good sharpness on the dunes. The sunset colours add nice splash of red at left. I like the silhouetted people top right. Good sharpness. Tfs!

Fraipont (232) 2008-08-19 1:39

Nice depth, colours and light !Well done !
Jean

Gerrit (62042) 2008-08-19 2:02

Hi Angshu,
very well to see how the wind has worked here with the sand. Great composition with the people abeve providing the feeling of scale.
Regards, gerrit

Arindam_1984 (292) 2008-08-19 2:22

gr8 shot...

darun tulechhen.....
POV ta o khub sundor....

Regards
Arindam

carper (96) 2008-08-19 3:35

very nice Angshuman
a fantastic point of view here, good balance and a fine photojob, have anice day.
gr. jaap

Morac (27725) 2008-08-19 4:18

Hello Angshuman

Marvellous texture with good sharpness on the dunes.
Nice composition, well done.
Regards
Marc

goodwill (4274) 2008-08-19 4:38

An awesome shot from your Panasonic Lumix.This is a beautiful POV....a different one and quite intersting.
The presence of live makes this shot more effective dear Angshu,

R

Disabled_A (0) 2008-08-19 6:24

Hi Angshuman,
original idea, very interesting POV to see the sand dune!
Beautiful colours...
regards,
Elena

feather (51130) 2008-08-19 6:28

Quite a record of "home" posts. Congratulations. Your high POV and angle work well to show the lines along the spine of the dune. It almost resembles a huge sheet of fabric with folds along each side. There is some attractive light hitting the left side. The tiny people are great for scale.
Kath

Henryk_Bilor (20803) 2008-08-19 10:07

Hi Angshuman
Wow, great rib from the sand! I see you have dunes also ;). Nice longitudinal capture and good light of the sunset time.
Regards

plimrn (21344) 2008-08-19 13:14

Hi Angshu,
I never think of desert in India; but of course it is a very large country, so naturally there would be desert. I like the framing along the spine, the distant figures add scale. The halos look like you oversharpened it a bit.
HLJ, Pat

Stepan (27210) 2008-08-19 22:58

It's as cold as the waking up is over there...
Good depth too, with that line driving the glance...
Works well...
Stéphane

siolaw (38294) 2008-08-19 23:23

Hi Angshu,
Congratulations for the double century! (India won't need that today VS.Sri Lanka, as the islanders are in disarray!) Good depth of field, light is getting dim but you haves till fine texure and detail.... the group in the far is a nice bonus.
Greetings
Laurent

aadilj (18102) 2008-08-20 0:53

Another great shot from you Angshu. I like the swirling dunes and the great earth tones that it has. the mood is sueprbly nuanced

pierrefonds (114584) 2008-08-20 3:33

Hi Angshuman,

The different designs in the sand made by the wind are assets to the composition. The presence of the people has an effect of scale. The light of the sunset is giving special tints of colors to the sand. The subject is well frame. Have anice day.

Pierre

baba_flies (8829) 2008-08-20 7:35

I like your title for no. 200 on India and it has indeed something spine-like. What a diverse country full of surprises and what a great photographer you are to bring me India closer and makes me wish to travel your country that for me is full of wonders. The inclusion of the people up there and how tiny they seem makes this picture work for me in a great way. Very good ... Barbara.

riclopes (35577) 2008-08-20 8:01

Olá Angshu, so you tried a diferent presentation, considering the white sky. What about b&w? May be you didn't want to loose some warm tones on the left side and I problably agree. Still, I don't know about the grey frame. The texture on the dune is amazing, as if it was a giant blanket instead of sand, specially in FG. Of course that the human silhouettes seen in the distance are a big deal here, so important as the spine of the dune itself if not more.
Um abraço,
ricardo
p.s.- interesting to see that only half of your posts are Indian...congrats for the 200th indian post.

MarcT (20964) 2008-08-20 9:06

Hi Angshuman,
I like the colours and tones of your picture following that sand spine.
Well seen
Marc

Bluejeans (64251) 2008-08-20 9:28

Ola Angshuman,
Muito interessante este ponto de visão sobre esta duna parece mesmo uma espinha , a textura da areia e muito bonita , gostei muito das pessoas dão uma noção de escala , parabéns!!
Um abraço Gonçalo

jafadabret (56501) 2008-08-20 9:51

Hi Angshu.
J'aime beaucoup le graphisme et les belles couleurs de cette dune. Le plus de ce cliché c'est les silhouettes humaines tout en haut de cette dune.
Jacques

somak_g (497) 2008-08-20 10:36

hi angshu,

this is beautiful shot with a lot of depth, beautiful textures and a great POV. not very sure about the grey border though !!

regards
somak

sayanwithsenice (758) 2008-08-20 10:55

Hi ,

I like the texture of the dunes very much and the angle from which you clicked it !! The top scenes takes a part too..

josepmarin (59385) 2008-08-20 11:09

Hi Angshuman,
The drawings created by the wind on the sand of these dunes have a spectacular graphism. I like the weak light and the shades that heighten the relief of the dune, and the tones so soft that you have obtained.
The people give us a good reference of the scale, in an excellent setting.
Beautiful work, my friend, and congratulations by your 200th Indian post.
Greetings,
Josep

Graal (103040) 2008-08-20 23:27

Hi Angshuman,
nice landscape, an interesting sight from dune. Fine composition with the peoples on top. I like it.
Gr., Aleksander

Felip (3907) 2008-08-21 1:36

Good morning Angshu,
Your notes are always incredible, as your photos, they make all of us a little bit wiser. The notation about the dunes is very interesting, and the image of this one with all its ripples is fabulously exposed. Once again, my compliments my friend.
Have a nice day

Felip

Dpbours (222) 2008-08-21 7:08

Hello Angshu,

Ah, I just love dunes. And desert as such. So peaceful. And yes, it surely does look like a spine and since dunes are moving, it is like an animal crawling through the desert. Nice.

Greetings,
Dennis

pablominto (53746) 2008-08-24 1:57

Hello Angshu,

An artistic capture of the sand dune!
I admire the lines in the composition, and the fine texture in the sand...
The fine light adds to the beauty of the scene, and the guys in the back are eye-catchers!

Greetings,
Pablo -

bakes888 (18499) 2008-08-25 0:34

Hi Angshu. Nice capture. I love the way the spine leads the eye to the group of people standing on the top. Lovely warm colours and wonderful patterns and textures. Thanks for sharing.
Have a good week, Paul.

vbl (1421) 2008-08-26 17:12