~Aeolian Dunes No. 16 - Swept and Sheltered~

Each return to the dunes offers a new way of seeing. The place may be familiar, but the experience never is. On this afternoon in Death Valley, the wind was doing what it does best; carving, shifting, sculpting. But it wasn’t a full-blown sandstorm; it was more selective. In the front and middle sections of the scene, gusts swept across the surface, lifting grains into the air and setting them adrift. But just beyond that, a large pocket of the dune lay untouched; still, pristine, sheltered.

That contrast is what caught my attention, the way the blowing sand danced across one part of the frame while another remained perfectly still. Light played off both, revealing shape and texture in entirely different ways.

The light was strong, low and harsh in the best possible way. It created sharp edges where the dunes folded and added depth to the soft haze of moving sand. I often find myself drawn to this kind of light in the desert. It’s not always pretty in a traditional sense, but it brings out character. It gives the landscape form and presence.

This image came together quickly. Not in the sense that I rushed it—but that I saw it, felt it, and knew it. I talk a lot about emotion in photography; how it’s less about chasing perfect conditions and more about tuning into a scene and responding to what I saw and felt at that moment. That was the case here. The moment wasn’t dramatic or rare. It just felt right.

Aeolian Dunes No. 16 is part of an ongoing series I've been slowly building over the past few years. It’s not a project about any one place—it’s about experience. About how light, wind, and time shape not just the dunes, but my relationship with them.

I hope you enjoy this image as much as I did creating it,

Andrew