I’m about 6 feet tall and most of my shots come from about that high off of the ground. Some of the shots, especially when I use wide angle lenses are pointed skyward, but again, from that same vantage point.
Sometimes I have to make a conscious effort to take a different perspective on things. This is akin to working the shot as I said in yesterday’s post.
While here in New Mexico, I have taken hundreds of pictures of sand dunes. I’ve approached them in several different ways both in the literal sense of portraying them as sand dunes and as abstract lines, shapes, and curves. However, I got pretty bored and wanted something different. Looking around I could see that there are several different species of desert plant eking out a living on the sand dunes so I wanted a closer look. By necessity, all of these plants are very short and low to the ground. The average yearly rainfall for Alamogordo, NM is about 11 inches, growing tall and having massive water requirements is not recommended.
I didn’t want to look down upon them, but more so on their level. This meant getting prone. It’s an amazing perspective shift. You have to not mind getting dirty and having sand in every conceivable location on your body, gear, clothing, etc.
So, here I was, for two days with my Nikon D300 and 50 mm lens just crawling around on the ground, taking pictures, and really having a great time. The only disadvantage that I ‘felt’ was occasionally, a bit of sand would blow into my eyes … a minor inconvenience.
I would have tried even higher perspectives, had there been any other than the tops of mountains. 
The highest things in the park were the sand dunes.
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13 Responses to “How low can you go?”
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Hi Paul,
that’s a gorgeous, calm picture for the start of the week. Just like a Japanese stonegarden. And a remarkable light – are those blues natural or did you help’em a bit?
@Thomas: Nope. I didn’t help them at all. That’s straight out of the camera. Only a little bit of sharpening applied to help bring out the grains of sand more. It seems that there, blue light is very abundant. I don’t know if it has to do with the sands, or the dust in the air, or whatever, but blue seems to be readily available.
I love the curving lines in the sand which looks like snow to me!
Wonderful level of detail too.
This has been a great and insightful series and while I didn’t comment on all the posts, I have enjoyed catching up today and reading them.
Excellent shot, Paul!! From crawling in a ditch to crawling at the Dunes, you sure do know how to “get down”, LOL!!!
And Thomas is right – - very relaxing and peaceful shot…
Cheers,
John
@John: LOL! Hmmm, there does seem to be a pattern!!!
Paul, this is an outstanding shot! It’s amazing what one may find with a change in perspective.
I echo the sentiments of those above who have commented above on the post photo and welcome back!
It’s an excellent shot. The struggle in it. The lines working their way to that little strong plant.
Last time I tried to make a picture at that “altitude” (from a fungus) I got a back pain and had to rest for three days….
I think if you don’t explore with different perspectives and lenses, your not fully “photographing.” That’s the difference between a photograph and a snapshot.
I remember my first trip to White Sands, Paul. You’ve captured the feel of it perfectly!
@Andre: But, with the back pain, did you get the picture?
@Micki: Thanks, Micki. It’s fun doing a bit of belly crawling and exploring.
@Photo Buffet: Thanks, Bonnie. It was a great trip. Now, I just need to decide what to print.
@Andre: But, with the back pain, did you get the picture?
hehehe, what do you think….
Mr Paul Lester, its been a while.
I am absolutely amazed at the photos I’m looking at here on your blog! These are simply amazing pictures. I wish I could have been there to see it in person.
Also, I am very happy to see you set up prints.
See you soon.
-Reza