Hills of Gold by Michael Shainblum

Hills of Gold by Michael Shainblum

Sand Dunes have always been a tough landscape subject for me. I had shot 10 different dunes and made over 20 trips in the past 8 years. To be perfectly honest out of all those times, I do not think I ever made a composition I was proud of. So naturally sand dunes became a subject I was very frustrated with and sort of just wrote them off as “I cant do this…”. It wasn’t until I took a trip to Death Valley in 2015 with my good friend Erin Babnik that something just clicked. We shot one sunrise event and saw so many compositions and possibilities. That morning I made some of my favorite images in my portfolio. Just remember, if you are ever feeling bummed out about shooting a certain subject, keep practicing and keep getting out there. Failing is an important step to success. Some of the processing for this image was influenced by one of my favorite photographers Chip Phillips. I am sure most of you on this website are very familiar with the name. But if you have not checked out his awesome sand dune images, I recommend doing a search.

Michael Shainblum: Photos