Postcards from Real Life: Shadow Play

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

Shadows add such depth and nuance to images. One of my favorite ways to play with shadows is on sand dunes and ripples.

Shadows offer so many ways to play in photography. Often times they represent a challenge. Super hard, contrasty, midday shadows can be difficult to work with. Unless you’re going to some cool abstract-y look, then you’re all set.

But they can also add depth, nuance, and even mystery to photographs. Especially when you catch them at the edges of the day when the low-angle light is softer.

One of my favorite ways to play with shadows is on sand dunes and ripples. In this case, I was having a grand ole time in Death Valley at Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes.

This is a morning shot after we’d gotten up to catch the sunrise. I was part of a photography workshop which keeps me accountable for getting my ass out of bed to catch the good light. The effort usually pays off.

After the sunrise petered out, our group settled into working the patterns in the dunes. I took my fair share of the knife’s edge of large dune crests highlighted by the contrast of early morning light and shadows.

But all of my images from that excursion, this one still calls me back. I love its simplicity and understated-ness. I love the full-frame abstract nature of it. And the play of the shadows and lines of the ripples. I marvel at that one circle—the outlier that breaks the pattern.

For me, it’s a macro-like image. But unlike capturing the details in close up a a flower or something similar, these ripples are the details of the dunes. The building blocks of them.

I know a lot of viewers reject full-frame images like this. I’ve heard the criticism that “there’s no subject”. You’ve probably put together that I think that’s utter bullshit.

You decide for yourself.

Cheers, friends!

Bluesky Art Show

This post is inspired by the Bluesky Art Show, a challenge to share artwork surrounding a weekly theme each Saturday.