Calm from Chaos
On the cusp of night, with the sun fallen behind the western peaks, a few hints of warmer light remain among darkening hues on the lithe, sinuous dune forms at Mesquite Dunes, Death Valley National Park, California.
It was an amazing evening on the dunes. Josh, Sky and I hiked out under bluebird skies through the strange arrowweed clumps in the Devil's Cornfield. Reaching the dunes, we wandered a while before settling in more as sunset drew closer. It was calm and almost soundless. Perfect mental recharge conditions before we had to head home and back to the workaday world.
Then, abruptly, a wind arose. Sand grains rustled and shifted like a nervous crowd, before taking flight in endless streams, whipping up over the dune ridges and vigorously working to erase the traces of all who had come before. The wind strengthened further, inverse to the waning light. We braced ourselves against the frequent more-forceful gusts, and we brushed off our tightly-zipped camera bags every few minutes lest they be covered completely--but sand still found a way inside everything.
Changing lenses was out of the question for the rest of evening, so the long lens it was for me. The massive flows of blowing sand didn't show up at all in these telephoto long exposures, except to provide a bit of extra glowing softness along the dune ridges. Such an interesting contrast in my mind between this peaceful image and the great turbulence in full effect when I took the shot.
Thanks for viewing!
Calm from Chaos
On the cusp of night, with the sun fallen behind the western peaks, a few hints of warmer light remain among darkening hues on the lithe, sinuous dune forms at Mesquite Dunes, Death Valley National Park, California.
It was an amazing evening on the dunes. Josh, Sky and I hiked out under bluebird skies through the strange arrowweed clumps in the Devil's Cornfield. Reaching the dunes, we wandered a while before settling in more as sunset drew closer. It was calm and almost soundless. Perfect mental recharge conditions before we had to head home and back to the workaday world.
Then, abruptly, a wind arose. Sand grains rustled and shifted like a nervous crowd, before taking flight in endless streams, whipping up over the dune ridges and vigorously working to erase the traces of all who had come before. The wind strengthened further, inverse to the waning light. We braced ourselves against the frequent more-forceful gusts, and we brushed off our tightly-zipped camera bags every few minutes lest they be covered completely--but sand still found a way inside everything.
Changing lenses was out of the question for the rest of evening, so the long lens it was for me. The massive flows of blowing sand didn't show up at all in these telephoto long exposures, except to provide a bit of extra glowing softness along the dune ridges. Such an interesting contrast in my mind between this peaceful image and the great turbulence in full effect when I took the shot.
Thanks for viewing!