Winter, Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado. Photo © Jim Doty Jr.

As the sun sets in the west it casts wonderful shadows so sunset is my favorite time of day at the dunes.

The light is often too harsh in the middle of the day. Sinuous ridge lines add to the magic of the dunes at sunset. I wanted to include the snowy high mountain desert in the foreground and the snow covered peaks of the Sangre de Cristo mountains in the background. A Singh-Ray warming polarizing filter darkened the blue sky and revealed more of the color in the desert vegetation. (After trying several brands of polarizing filters, Singh-Ray is my favorite.)

Data: Canon 5D camera, Canon EF 24-105mm lens at 99mm. Aperture f/11, Shutter: 1/40, ISO: 100.