Baltic desert, a photo from Klaipedos, North

Photographer's Note

This is the Parnidis Dune, a several kilometres long sand dune with a greatest height of approximately 52 metres, on the Curonian Spit on the Lithuanian and Russian Baltic coast.

The strangely shaped Curonian Spit is a long and narrow peninsula stretching from the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad up to just a few hundred metres from the Lithuanian port of Klaipéda. The width of the spit varies from roughly 2 to 5 km and the length is about 100 km, evenly divided between Russia and Lithuania.

This photo was taken just south of the small Lithuanian town of Nida, about 2 km from the border. The Parnidis Dune is just one of several huge sand dunes making up a large part of the spit, constantly changing shapes and heights. The spit has been declared a national park on both sides of the border and it is also a UNESCO world heritage site. Access to the sensitive dunes is severely restricted.

You can read all about the Curonian Spit, and see a map of it here.

There are two more pictures of the Curonian Spit and the Parnidis Dune as workshops.

Indrasish, Royaldevon, Royaldevon, papagolf21, ourania, Romano46, jhm, rigoletto, williewhistler, Henryk_Bilor, kato, saxo042, gildasjan, bukitgolfb301, worldcitizen, rychem, bayno, abmdsudi, serp2000, macjake, rogerl, nikkitta, adores, Angshu, frunchy, ChrisJ, Cricri has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Indrasish (2943) 2013-06-16 1:34

Hi Gert,
Great shot of this landscape.. Good composition.. Sharpness and clarity are superb too..
Warm regards,
Indrasish..

howladersourav (341) 2013-06-16 1:38

Hi Gert

It is a good frame indeed. Last patch of green before getting into desert is absolutely great idea of capturing the contrast.

Thank you very much for. Sharing.

Let us share our world to each other.

Regards
sourav

Royaldevon (75468) 2013-06-16 2:05

Hello Gert,

The map helped me to understand the geography of the spit, which I had never heard of previously, and find thoroughly intriguing. Presumably, there are parts where you can see the sea on one side and the lagoon on the other. With its changing nature, I would imagine it is very sensitive to footfall.

Your photograph uses good leads, including human interest, too, and details which show the change from rich grassland to sparse dune cover.
Isn't it pleasing when people provide help by wearing red!!

Have a good Sunday,
Bev :-)

papagolf21 (152599) 2013-06-16 2:19

Bonjour, Gert,
Très jolie présentation de ce paysage étonnant. J'aime ce petit chemin qui fait la joie des marcheurs et promeneurs.
La découverte de ce lieu est manifeste.
Un grand merci du partage.
Amitiés.
Philippe

wolf38 (30) 2013-06-16 3:17

Hello Gert. The photo reminds me of a trip 2 years ago. Only then, the weather was extremely bad. Your photo, however, shows the landscape near Klaipeda in the most beautiful season, - the Curonian Lagoon is really worth a visit. In addition, an instructive text. The photo pleases me very well.
Rgds, Wolfgang.

ourania (51103) 2013-06-16 3:33

Hello Gert,
the landscape has a special character and allure and it looks that walking through it is a pleasant and interesting experience. I like very much the simple and effective way in which you've arranged your composition giving superb depth, human interest and sense of movement. The paths and the people lead our attention to a specific spot to the right which looks mysterious and attractive but it's interesting and fun to explore the elements and textures in the whole of the frame too. The chromatic palette is wonderful. I love all three of your pictures and the views they describe. The people play a great role in all of them. Congratulations and thank you!
All the best, have a lovely day,
Ourania

sandpiper (6788) 2013-06-16 3:46

Hi Gert

Great shot of this unexpected dune, it must be quite an impressive structure to see. Good composition.

Chris

Romano46 (18472) 2013-06-16 4:09

Ciao Gert
l'altezza di questa duna è impressionante e il paesaggio che la circonda è oltremodo bello e sarebbe un vero peccato che questo ecosistema venisse rovinato .
Ho letto quanto tu scrivi nelle note e ho approfondito su Wikipedia e mi ha colpito la particolarità di questo sito che però leggo è molto ben protetto dalle autorità.
Uno scatto particolarmente interessante che ti ringrazio di aver condiviso con gli amici di TE.
Ciao e buona domenica
Romano

jhm (203057) 2013-06-16 4:19

Bonjour Patrick,

I've with a lot attention looked to your two workshop pictures, these are both excellent.
But these picture here is the most beautiful.
A lovely perspective and depth also a nice panoramic view in background.
Very well done, TFS.

Have a nice day,
John.

pajaran (102696) 2013-06-16 4:36

Dobar dan.
Dobar tekst o dini, sa datim podacima ...
Lep pogled na zeleno polje, posetioce i dinu.
Dobar trenutak snimka, kontrast, lepe boje.
Dobar rad, lepo pokazano mesto, i trenutak sa posetiocima.
Prijatno popodne i sve najbolje.
Paja.

Good afternoon.
Good article on the dune, with the given data ...
A beautiful view of the green field, visitors and dune.
A good time recording, contrast, beautiful colors.
Good work, nice indicated place and moment with visitors.
Good afternoon and all the best.
Paja.

rigoletto (34279) 2013-06-16 5:09

hi gert,
an unexpected form of earth in the land of trees! i love TE for this reason, it never stops showing you something that will make you fall off your chair. excellent composition for sure.
deniz

Sergiom (117241) 2013-06-16 5:58

Bonjour Gert,

Le regard suit naturellement le petit sentier dans l'image, passe entre les herbes hautes et suit les gens dans leur marche vers les sommets brulés par le soleil. Un bien beau moment.

Bon dimanche

Serge

williewhistler (16606) 2013-06-16 6:48

Hello Gert,
you have managed to show an intriguing environment as a very tranquil and open location,with the visitors strolling into the entrance it has a very nice feeling of depth.
Kind regards Les.

Henryk_Bilor (20803) 2013-06-16 7:25

Hi Gert
Impressive dunes. Thank you very much for the image. I didn`t know that there are another dunes not far from "mine" :). Unfortunatelly I see, that they also try to make easy for people to get there. These ugly pavements and fences, like in Slovinski NP. Nevetheless, I must see it one day.
Regards

kato (11630) 2013-06-16 7:47

Hello Gert,

You're capturing well this place by a good composition and excellent tone/clarity, so it's impressive to see the sand dune with the height. It's balanced and harmonized well with the green grass and trees on the ground. And, hikers walking footpath draw out an additional good effect in this image. You showed well to us this dune in baltic, althogh I hardly have knowledge in this area.

Kind regards,
mikio

Nicou (193806) 2013-06-16 8:04

Hello

Quel contraste entre le champs et cette parie désertique ce vert et ce gris merveilleux et les personnage sur le chemin merveilleuse image et compo.
Bravo et amitié
Nicou

lousat (130007) 2013-06-16 8:18

Hi Gert,very nice and origina landscape from your last trip,i like the perspective,the people walking give an idea of the exact dimensions of the hill,great details and colors as usual.Have a nice evening and thanks,Luciano

saxo042 (38078) 2013-06-16 10:32

Hej Gert,
En fin bild i vilken du tycka ha fått med det mesta; någon i rött, någonting på tredjedelen, fina färger och en snygg komposition. Den intressanta texten försämrar ju inte bidraget!
Hälsningar
Gunnar

Fis2 (155673) 2013-06-16 11:24

Witaj Gert!
A very nice scene.
Wonderful view.
Good frame and colors.
The persons add savor of photo.
I like it.
Nice evening
Krzysztof

gildasjan (43826) 2013-06-16 12:03

Bonsoir Gert
les promeneurs se détachent bien dans ce paysage bien paisible.Le contraste est fort avec le ciel,je pense qu'il aurait fallu sous-exposer pour donner plus de densité au ciel.
Bonne nuit
Amicalement
gildas

ACL1978 (7511) 2013-06-16 12:55

An impressive view, Gert, that you've enhanced with the human figures below, giving us a very clear sense of the impressive scale of the dune. A desert in Lithuania certainly seems odd, but here it is... I'm glad this sopt and this formation are being carefully maintained. Easy these days to lose natural features like these both to excessive tourism and excessive erosion. Thanks!

Andrew

dkmurphys (78000) 2013-06-16 13:04

Hi Gert,
Very beautiful scene. I like the way you've captured the big dune. Nice atmosphere and colors.
Have a good evening.

Daniel

fabbs99 (17179) 2013-06-16 13:29

Hi Gert,

The high sand dune looks more a like the embankment of a dam.I like the green fields and the people enjoying their walks.Nice image, sharp with good details, well saturated colors and nice composition. Well done.KEEP POSTING MORE SHOTS.

Regards
Farhat

bukitgolfb301 (53894) 2013-06-16 15:34

Hi dear Gert, how are you?

Sorry for my late reaction.
Another stunning shot in the perfect framework.
Sharp and clear image as yusual as your style.
So well balanaced and so nice moment you captured.
Thanks a lot and have a good new week!

Takero from Tokyo

worldcitizen (14290) 2013-06-16 16:26

Hello Gert,
I had never heard about this place before, so thank you for teaching me about it. Your photo, with the people walking towards the dunes, shows perfectly just how tall they are. I like the path that cuts through the grass and leads us to the dunes in the distance. Here in the NY and NJ area, beach dunes are often damaged by strong storms. I wonder if these dunes have eroded at all over time, or if they are able to last even through bad weather.

rychem (72179) 2013-06-16 20:54

Excellent photo of this interesting landscape, the photo is well composed, perfect management of light
regards
Ryszard

eldancer1 (36343) 2013-06-17 7:42

Desert in the Baltic? Learn something new everyday on TE. Nice contrast between the dunes and the green grass and trees. Good pov and dof with nice details. Very well done, tfs.

emka (152274) 2013-06-17 8:00

Hi Gert, We have in Poland also a spit - Vistula Spit, also partly in Poland and partly in Russia. Not a place for me, with only two directions for walks. And Nida is famous for the house of Thomas Mann. Have you seen it? I was in Klaipeda but not on the spit. U was astonished to notice that the water in Balticum there (in Palanga)is much warmer than in our resorts, although more ion the north. Impressive dune, nice inclusion of the people (in red :)).
Warm regrads

MAlgo

bayno (18348) 2013-06-17 10:15

Ciao Gert,
three images and one more attractive than other.... a good note too, the framing is very good in all three shots, the place looks very attractive with its desert but also with plenty of water nearby, excellent details and colors...super job...
good evening...
Valter

Graal (103040) 2013-06-17 23:42

Hi Gert,
unusual desert near by Baltic Sea. Good shot and presentation here. Interesting informations and complementary WS.
Have a nice day.
Aleksander

Urs (14082) 2013-06-18 1:50

Hi Gert

Really interesting sand dune, in particular its hight of about 52 meters, that is a giant. By including the walkers we can better understand the hight of the dune. The note and POV are excellent. Well done

Normally I do no cropping of my shots what is an old habit of the colour slides time. My editors told me, when your shot is framed correctly no cropping is necessary and so is much more likely to be selected for publishing.

Warm regards
urs

abmdsudi (88597) 2013-06-18 8:31

HI Gert
Good infor notes about his dunes, Desert has a breath-taking beauty, great thing about it is that the sand is very light brownish which adds a good contrast to richness of green surrounding oasis. Compo is spot on, the high level curve of the dune is perfectly placed with strong foreground interest obviously leads into mian focus of the subject and being there for real for you must have been awesome. Great additional pictures for more insights views. Well done, TFS
Best regards

chrisvek (7003) 2013-06-18 9:48

Hello Gert

Fantastic capture with awesome details and lightning usage.Very good details and lightning usage.Very well done!

All the best
Chris

serp2000 (47063) 2013-06-18 9:49

Hello, Gert,
This is my serious drawback. I have never been in Baltic region, and this is my old dream to visit Riga and Tallin, for example. I hope to visit Lutuania too. Did you visit Koenigsberg? Another interesting report. TFS!
Serghei

jemaflor (135464) 2013-06-18 11:56

Hi Gert,
Well composed with this path and walkers and this impressive dune, tfs.

macjake (96157) 2013-06-18 13:48

Hi Gert
I'm surprised they made this into a UNESCO heritage site, not sure why i'm surprised, it just seems odd to me. But i guess it'll be protected, which is always a good thing.
the 2 ws photos add alot, as we can see the full totality of the Dune. and 52 meters is pretty high, over 150 feet, not bad at all.
You certainly surprised me with this photo, wouldn't have expected a sand dune!
and i see you're not the only photographer :)
nice to see a post on TE where after viewing it i've actually learned something about Lithuania...nice.
enjoy your day
craig

nikkitta (17070) 2013-06-19 12:19

Hola Gert

Interesting note to add at the interesting and original captures of the path to the dunes
With natural colors you managed a capture full of color contrast, good to include people at the distance
Just watch the WS, in my opinion they both deserved a post in TE
Well done, congrats
Maria

Miguel82 (47108) 2013-06-24 11:20

Hello Gert,
A superb picture of Estonian landscape
Very high dunes here, a place that deserves to visit
Great colors, excellent sharpness and light
Have a good evening

adores (46979) 2013-06-26 18:13

Hi Gert!
I had never heard of this place, but I'm glad to see they are protecting the dunes. It really seems really worth a visit and I like your composition with the tourists calmly walking along the path.

A7XSxnFold (0) 2013-06-27 3:32

Hello Gert.
Nice work and nice lighting.
Good color and finish.
Niche is not much.
I like the work.
Best regards.

Angshu (56760) 2013-06-27 9:36

Hello Gert
As always your notes are so very informative! I did not even know about this spit...your map helped as well. The WS posts with the wider view also helps us understand better. Here you created a good perspective with the path leading to the dune. Very nice!
Best Regards
Angshu

carlo62 (81265) 2013-07-04 6:17

Ciao Gert
mi dispiace di aver visto questa foto solo adesso.
Un luogo molto interessante e di grande interesse naturalistico.
La duna è impressionante, le persone inquadrate danno conferma delle dimensioni.
Una bella proposta ed un'ottima condivisione.
Saluti
Carlo

mkamionka (61280) 2013-07-13 4:10

Hi Gert,
we have in Poland similarly these huge sand dunes along the Baltic Coast. I did not know there are more of them. It is indeed a bit surprising view from this part of Europe. None thinks the Baltic coast may resemble a desert with these huge dunes stretching for quite a distance. Thanks for sharing,
M

frunchy (1800) 2013-07-29 7:34

Hello Gert,

interesting place i didn't know and shold probably visit!

Nice composition with the way leading away from us and the two wanderers.

TFS, F.

subhendu_bagchi (26091) 2013-11-17 0:33

namaste Gert, another nice one from your archive. Like the curved path with the walkers. Like the grasslands beside it. A very good composition with natural colours and nice depth. Like also the warm light. A nice one indeed. Tfs.
S

Karolina999 (0) 2015-11-21 0:46

Dear Gert,
a nice pair with a dog, amazing desert, fine light and colors, good weather, good perspective.
Thanx for sharing.
Cheeers!!!

ChrisJ (160070) 2018-06-30 6:58

Hi Gert,

I remember dragging my hired bicycle up that steep track then cycling to the sundial structure and lookout into Kaliningrad. Good sharpness and natural pastel colors. Tfs!

Cricri (176) 2018-08-14 8:13

Hi Gert
Un paysage fascinant, a découvrir agréablement depuis le chemin de rando, avec le chien :-)
deux belles versions en WS , jolies teintes, présentations
Bonne soirée
cricri