The setting Sun sets the sky on fire above the gypsum dunes of White Sands National Monument.
A week ago I was at Chiricahua National Monument in Arizona for the sunset. This was the scene tonight, at White Sands National Monument in New Mexico.
I was on top of a sand dune at the Yucca picnic area on the Loop Road, watching an amazing sunset over the dunes. The clouds lit up on cue and Venus began to appear, visible here left of centre. The horizon was rimmed with a rainbow of twilight tints.
It was a cool evening, and driving on the unpaved Loop Road graded out of the white sand made me feel I was back home driving on a snow-covered back road. But the white stuff wasn’t snow but pure white gypsum.
This image is a High Dynamic Range (HDR) stack of seven exposures taken at 2/3rd stop increments and composited with Photomatix Pro. The technique brings out details in the shadowy landscape while preserving the bright sky. I used the 14mm Rokinon lens on the Canon 5D MkII. Final processing was in Photoshop CC.
– Alan, December 10, 2013 / © 2013 Alan Dyer
The Amazing Sky 
Alan; Your photos are incredible! I have noticed that you are using Canon. Do you not use Nikon anymore?
Hi Ivan — Haven’t used Nikon since going digital in 2004. I sold most of the film gear back then.