the answer to that question became manifest: I
A Study in Vision, Light and
Shadows
Three years ago, when I made my first photo tour
through the magnificent landscapes of Iceland, I
fondly recall an interesting dinner discussion with
my fellow photographers. We had just returned to
our guest house from a memorable photo shoot.
As we shared good wine, food, and laughs, the
discussion pleasantly turned to photography. After
the seemingly prosaic and obligatory discussion of
camera gear, we got around to more interesting
topics such as light, travel destinations, and our
individual exploits. One pleasant, wise, and well-
traveled gentleman from Holland made an
interesting comment that has resonated with me
ever since. With a blend of delight and
amusement, he said, and I paraphrase him:
“It’s amazing how photographers can travel to the
same place at the same time and come away with
completely different photographs.”
He chuckled as he said that, and his comment
drew smiles and nods from the group.
Interestingly, there was a pause with confounded
looks, and the discussion quickly turned to other
topics in photography. In retrospect, what the
gentleman from Holland remarked was not only
interesting but the truth – a truth whose basis is
the epitome of the visualization process. That is to
say, unique artistic constructs are molded by
different life experiences and likely influenced by
the predominant emotion at the time of making
the photograph. The same scene, yet different
visions, different interpretations, and thus, different
photographs. Over the years since that dinner
discussion, I have pondered a related question,
“How can the same photographer travel to a similar
subject and come away with the same
photographs?” Not that there is anything inherently
wrong with that, yet for me it has been a challenge
to photograph the same subject and come away
with distinct and more interesting images. For me,
had to change my vision.
The Algodones Dunes
I have hiked and photographed sand dunes in
Southern California multiple times, stretching from
the Kelso Dunes in the Mojave National Preserve
to the Mesquite Flat Dunes in Death Valley
National Park. Yet, there is a stretch of dunes that I
had not yet explored, the Algodones Dunes, widely
known for all terrain vehicle recreation. Since I was
in the mood for exploring a new place, exploring
the intersection of light and land, and since these
dunes are a short 2.5-3 hour drive from my home
base in San Diego, CA, I decided to take a chance.
Three months ago, I made a brief 2-day road trip
to these dunes to make photographs of the terrain
in a way that I had not yet done with enough
emotion and creativity. I embarked with a clearly
defined goal: to explore light, shadows, and
contrast to create a new rendition of a familiar
subject.
The Algodones Dunes, also known as the Imperial
Sand Dunes, are a vast stretch of dunes in the
Sonoran Desert deep in Southeast California, near
the California-Arizona and US-Mexico borders. It
encompasses the North Algodones Dunes
Wilderness, which is a protected natural habitat
that is off-limits to recreational vehicles, and the
Imperial Sand Dunes Recreational Area. It is the
latter that boasts the more impressive stretch of
sand dunes. Although I had understood the
landscape in the region that I would be entering
(Osborne Overlook off Hwy 78) at this particular
time of the year (winter-early spring), would
undoubtedly be marred with tire tracks from all
terrain vehicles, I was not overly concerned about
it. My interest was not in photographing a pristine
landscape, but more in exploring light, shadows,
textures, and patterns. As I surveyed the scene, I
immediately became interested in the abstracts
that I could potentially make (with or without the
tire tracks). Given my artistic imperative at the
time, I felt reasonably good about the prospects
for making interesting images. The only question
in my mind was: at the decisive moment of
opening the shutter, what specific subjects would
materialize?
Kelso Dunes
Mamiya 7II, 43mm f/4.5, Fujichrome Velvia 50
Mesquite Flat Dunes
Nikon D800, 100mm f/2.8 E Series
Whenever I embark on a photo shoot, in particular
landscapes, I do so possessing one of two mind
sets. One, I have a very specific subject of interest,
most likely a subject that I have scouted and all
that I need is for Mother Nature to provide the
light to consummate the visualization process.
Alternatively, I set out for a specific quality of light
for which I am confident will materialize, yet I do
not have a well-defined subject in mind. Then
based on the light, I will seek out a subject based
on my mood and emotion at the time. For me,
both approaches are not mutually exclusive; but
whatever photograph I end up making, one of
these approaches will have been paramount. For
this photo shoot, I took the latter approach. Based
on the weather reports, I knew with a high degree
of certainty that I would have the desired light in
abundance (unidirectional and high contrast under
clear skies), but my specific subject would need to
materialize at the moment, as if in an epiphany, or
serendipitously. Previously, I have written about
the former approach taken to the nth degree.
To create the photographs below, I used one of
my favorites tools – panchromatic black and while
film. With the exception of one photograph, I used
a 35mm camera, which is one of my preferred
tools under conditions where light is changing
rapidly, where I desire to change locations and
compositions quickly, and where I desire to take
multiple exposures in a short amount of time. It
goes without saying that for the black and white
landscape photographer, it is all about *contrast*,
pure and simple. To yield the contrast that I
visualized, I used a classic tool in black and white
photography, the deep red filter. For more
background on the red filter and the technical
rationale, you can read here and here. With the
exception of one photograph below, I used an
exposure strategy that would yield strong
highlights balanced with deep shadows to create
contrast and depth and impart a sense of intrigue
and mystery to the scene. For all of these
photographs, I used a long lens to frame the
perspective.
It would be worthwhile to pause briefly to explain
the relationship between the directionality of light
and texture, although a dedicated article would
surely be merited down the road. In general,
whether the artist is a photographer, a painter, or a
sketch artist, textures are best revealed by two
directions of incident light: lighting from the side
and back lighting. For the landscape
photographer, light that sweeps across the
landscape from the side has been a cherished tool
for revealing textures and lending shape and
dimensionality to the scene, although backlighting
can accomplish the same feat. A good on-line
resource that nicely illustrates the relationships
between the directionality of light and texture can
be found here with an excellent book written by
the same author that I highly recommend.
table was immensely gratifying. It was almost like
re-living a love affair with light and then re-uniting
with your love days later . . . Sighh . . . It was pretty
awesome. :)

For this first photograph at mid-morning, I

visualized a blend of coarse and smooth textures.
As the sun was rising higher, the shapes and deep
shadows gradually materialized. In the midst of the
depressions and deep shadows in the dunes, my
mind saw the nose of a human face in the bottom
of the frame. It was uncanny. With this emotion
Nikon F6, Nikkor 70-200mm f/4 G ED VR, Adox
gripping my consciousness at that moment in
CMS 20 II
time, I felt compelled to open the shutter.
As the sun was rising higher, I was still inspired
with a human emotion embedded within the
landscape, and I just rolled with it . . . As I surveyed
the scene looking for my next subject, my eyes
caught another set of depressions, curves, and
contours. At that moment, my mind interpreted
the contours of a human torso. In the midst of the
light display, I saw an abdomen, a navel, a
waistline, and hips . . . She was beautiful! It was
another uncanny sight, and it felt right for making
another exposure. The quality and directionality of
the light – sweeping from above and to the side –
Nikon F6, Nikkor 70-200mm f/4 G ED VR, Adox was conducive to creating shape and 3-
CMS 20 II dimensionality and revealing fine textures on the
sand. Although I was shooting directly into the
For this next photograph (my first exposure of the path of the sun, the reduced contrast from flare
morning), the sun was starting to clear the did not deter me, as I knew what I was seeing in
Chocolate Mountains and bathe the landscape. As my mind could not be witnessed from another
I previously discussed about this scene here, I was direction of light.
feeling an emotion of scarred beauty, an emotion
of mystery, and that of an untold story. I again
“saw” and “felt” the contours of a human face, and
as the contrast was building up, I was “feeling it”.
The lighting, which was highly unidirectional and
contrasty, was sweeping across the subject at a
nearly 90 degree angle, which casted long and
deep shadows. At that decisive moment, the light,
shadows, and emotion were aligned, and I again
felt compelled to open the shutter. In retrospect,
the wait to see this particular negative on the light
 Nikon F6, Nikkor 70-200mm f/4 G ED VR, Adox
CMS 20 II
Since I’ve been photographing sand dunes (and
beaches) over the last past four years, I have found
that potentially interesting compositions may
actually lie not far ahead but literally underneath
your feet. Again, if the incident sunlight is from the
side or in front of you, with careful study through a
composing card, the potential for the mind to see
patterns and abstracts can be alluring, as the
following two photographs illustrate.
Nikon F6, Nikkor 70-200mm f/4 G ED VR, Adox
CMS 20 II
Nikon F6, Nikkor 70-200mm f/4 G ED VR, Adox
CMS 20 II
In contrast to proximity and abstracts, again with
careful study of the landscape and the light
through the composing card and a long lens, even
a distant scene may declare itself to be a delightful
interplay of light, shadows and texture conveyed
with a sense of minimalism.
Nikon F6, Nikkor 70-200mm f/4 G ED VR, Adox
CMS 20 II
What I enjoy about long deep shadows in a
landscape is that they have the potential to confer
different emotions and physical interpretations of
a scene. From an emotional perspective, as I have
mentioned deep shadows can provoke a mood of
intrigue, mystery, drama, and a sense of
abstraction. From a physical perspective, they can
lend shape, depth, and 3-dimensionality to the
scene. Consider the next two photographs.

Nikon F6, Nikkor 70-200mm f/4 G ED VR, Adox
CMS II
Nikon F6, Nikkor 70-200mm f/4 G ED VR, Kodak T-
Max 100
The first illustrates how the deep shadows lend a
sense of depth and an element of mystery to the
scene, whereas the second photograph – taken
later in the morning when the sun was higher in
the sky – reveals greatly diminished shadows,
which unfortunately impart a bland mood as well
as a flattened perception of depth. The same
subject . . . The same perspective . . . Different
lighting . . . Two starkly different photographs,
emotionally and physically.
Although a view camera is not my first tool of
choice under rapidly changing lighting, I brought
my 4×5 with me because I was both stubborn and
felt that I would easily find an appropriate subject
for a couple of exposures. For this next photo,
which was the last photo I made on my trip, I had
scouted the dunes north of Hwy 87 (the area that
is restricted from all terrain vehicles) and found a
stretch of low-lying dunes where the light from the
setting sun would strike it at a low angle from the
side and potentially reveal more interesting
textures and deep shadows. At sunset, the light
was creating lovely tonality across the sand and
becoming more enticing as the minutes passed.
This was another shot where “I was feeling it”. After
honing my composition with my card and
adjusting it on the ground glass, the sharp curved
line conveyed an emotion of two separate worlds .
..
Ikeda Anba 4×5, Nikkor-M 300mm f/9, Ilford Delta
100
Since my goal with this particular photograph was
to capture a broad range of tones and preserve
shadow detail, I deliberately did not use a contrast
filter (e.g., red, orange, yellow, or green), since such
a filter would have blocked blue light and reduced
shadow detail. I did, however, use a UV filter to
block UV light from exposing the film. Briefly, from
a technical standpoint, I spot metered the shadows
in the middle right of the frame to preserve those
on Zone II, then extended the development of the
film by N+1 to expand the high values, and thus
the overall contrast range. This was my personal
favorite exposure of the trip: a pleasant tonal
range, replete with textures, and still conveyed
with a sense of mystery yet with less drama than in
the previous images.
Conclusions
In a recent conversation with Howard Bond, with
whom I have had the privilege to periodically share
thoughts on art, photography, and history, Mr.
Bond remarked, “It’s wonderful to see that there is a
lot going on in your head when you are
photographing.” That comment resonates with me
as much as the comment from the gentleman from
Holland, for similar reasons. The process of
modifying a vision, changing an established way of
interpreting a scene, or thinking outside of the box
is not an easy one for a photographer and artist.
This is the most challenging aspect in the creative
process. For this photo shoot, following weeks of
contemplation and refining a specific goal and
vision coupled with the appropriate light, I was
able to create a set of photographs that were
distinct in meaning and emotion from my earlier
photographs of a similar subject. For the
contemplative photographer, the visualization
process starts with feeling it and believing in it. The
light and the skill of the photographer will take
care of the rest.

About Rick Keller

Rick Keller is originally from Texas but now resides
in California. He is an avid hiker, jogger, nature
lover, and outdoor photographer and immensely
enjoys travel and culture. Rick considers himself a
life long student of the art and history of
photography. Deep inside he is a burgeoning
visual artist who has chosen the camera as his
paint brush. He takes pride and joy in educating
his fellow beginning photographers to enjoy the
aesthetic and technical aspects of creating an
image. With more experience and opportunities in
photography, Rick is enthusiastic about exploring
more deeply aesthetics and his creativity, refining
his direction and skill, and expanding his portfolio.
You can visit his site and his gallery here.