Image by Member Jennifer Fraser published in Outdoor Photographer Magazine

Jennifer Fraser's image of the Mesquite Dunes in Death Valley was just published in Outdoor Photographer Magazine's annual Black-and-White issue (see accompanying photo of the magazine).

Jennifer, still enjoying her "15 minutes of fame ...", had this to say:

"Here's the original text for the Outdoor Photographer article! What other members might find of interest is that the editor contacted me (first time that ever happened!) saying she "came across your image 'Dune Waves' in our magazine's online gallery and would like to feature it in the Behind The Shot section of our August 2016 Black-and-White special issue."

I guess the takeaway is that it's good to get one's images out on the web. Even if they don't win prizes; someone might see them!"

Below is the text accompanying the image in the magazine.

“Desert Waves”  by Jennifer Fraser - Mesquite Dunes, Death Valley National Park, California (This image may be viewed on Jennifer's personal web gallery at:  http://jenniferfraser.zenfolio.com/p250523926/h11bc04a8#h11bc04a8
 
"Right light, right place, right equipment, right settings - how many of these conditions ever happen by chance? When all come together by luck, it really seems like magic. That wasn’t the case with this image, however; this was an image I “stalked”.

To prepare for this image, I planned a trip to Mesquite Dunes near Stovepipe Wells in midweek of early Spring, hoping I’d avoid the crowds. The afternoon before the shot, I drove by the dunes to figure out where I should park the next morning, since I knew it would be dark, and how long it would take to drive from my campsite in order to get there at least an hour before dawn to hike out and set up. I drove back, checked the chart for sunrise time and set my alarm clock.

The next early morning I pocketed my Rocket Air Blaster* in case of blowing sand and headed out. I drove to the site counting the miles, parked, turned on my headlamp and walked out in the direction of the dunes. The only factor I hadn’t accounted for was the difficulty of trudging up dunes in deep sand for half a mile, but I certainly was alone! Fortunately, a wind had come up the previous night, blowing away many of the footprints, and as the predawn light seeped into the sky, the ridges in the sand began to appear in deep shadow.

I set up my tripod and discovered that the lower the tripod, the more dramatic the ridges showed. Focusing a third of the way into the distance to maximize depth of field, I began shooting, making sure to bracket the shots. Every minute the changing light created new angles, new shadows, new compositions, and I was dizzy with the possibilities. When the sun came over the mountain, the parking lot began to fill up, as hikers and photographers flooded in. That was OK - I was packing up by then.

It was certainly one of the most magical photographic experiences I’ve had. The shots required very little post-processing in Photoshop: converting to black and white, adjusting the shadows for a true black …a nd deciding whether or not to keep the tiny rock in the shadow on the left. I kept it."
 
Equipment: Nikon d800, AF-S Nikkor 24-70mm@24mm, f2.8 ED, f11,1/60, ISO 125

*Rocket Air Blaster