sand dunes

Sculptures of Sand

Sculpted by wind and time, the ancient sentinels of Monument Valley stand as testament to the rugged beauty of the desert southwest. Their stoic presence speaks of resilience, whispering tales of a time when dinosaurs roamed the land. The Navajo people revere these formations, considering them sacred places imbued with the spirits of their ancestors. Gazing upon these natural wonders, we are humbled by the enduring power of nature and the vastness of time.

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park
Navajo Nation USA

Lines in the Sand

Mother Nature's fingerprint at White Sands National Park. The delicate lines on the dunes at dawn are a mesmerizing reminder of the ever-changing desert landscape. Witnessing the hues in the sand transition to warm to cool colors at dusk, and reverse again at dawn, was a big factor to decide to camp in the park. And it was worth every ounce of sand I discovered in the tent and backpack thereafter.

White Sands National Park
NM USA

Faces of DeVa

Picture a desert and the first vision that crops up is that of sand dunes stretching endlessly to the horizon. Undisturbed ripples of golden stand wiggle their way on the windward side, forming patterns akin to life-sized fingerprints. Mesquite Sand Dunes in Death Valley National Park is a classic example of this. But the park also features a vast low-level basin that are filled with white salt-flats. The salt flat is the remnant of an endorheic lake that dries out by late spring, leaving behind hexagonal patterns of crystallline salt.

Death Valley is more than just sand dunes and salt flats. But these are two key faces of this DeVa.

Death Valley National Park
CA USA

Curves of Death Valley

Walking around barefoot on the soft sand is an experience like no other. And when I am in the Mesquite sand dunes in Death Valley National Park at the wrong time of day, I try to sample such an experience. However, when the sun starts dipping towards the horizon, I start focusing on the rich patterns formed by the undulating dunes, with the mesquite bush anchoring the wind-swept surfaces.


Perhaps the biggest challenge here may be getting away from the crowds to find your own undisturbed spot in the dunes. Which one is your favorite?


Death Valley national Park
CA USA

Sparks of Sand

When I photograph sand dunes, I normally seek out patterns in the ripples of the dunes, especially during the golden hours. But this time, I decided to focus on the faint shadow cast by the clouds as a gust of wind whipped up the sand.

Great Sand Dunes National Park
CO USA

A National Parks Journey - Great Sand Dunes National Park

I had visited five National Parks in 2018, with three in quick succession during a trip to Colorado. First on the stop was Great Sand Dunes National Park, one of the five National parks where you can find sand dunes, and the only one where the dry desert meets the Rocky mountains. Situated in rain shadow of the snow-capped peaks lay towering golden sand dunes more than 200ft high. From my past experiences spending the night in the dunes, I knew I that spending the night here would provide plenty of opportunities for photography, but first, I had to figure the logistics of doing that - including getting permits.

Having arrived late in the day leading up to the Memorial weekend, which was big for travel here, I was not particularly hopeful on getting a walk-in permit. Thankfully, the stars were on my side, and I had secured the last permit. After that, the next challenge was figuring out where to camp. So I saddled up my pack and walked towards the dunes, with no specific destination in mind. Climbing up sand isn't easy in the best of times, but climbing with a heavy pack with 4l of water and camera gear all under the dry desert heat was immeasurably worse. But once I settled in to an amicable spot, and enjoyed an afternoon siesta, my mood was certainly brighter.

Planning a night in the dunes is harder than a regular backpack, but all those troubles worth it for the serene sunset, beautiful night sky amidst the dunes, and the refreshing feeling of stepping into cold and soft sand.

Great Sand Dunes National Park
CO USA

A National Parks Journey - White Sands National Park

On my feed, I have often waxed poetry about White Sands, which I had first visited when it was still a National Monument. Sheer white sand dunes of the type found in White Sands National Park take on otherworldly hues at the magic hours of sunrise and sunset. And since the park is open only from an hour after sunrise to an hour before sunset, the only way to experience the magic hour is to camp between the dunes. Doing so requires contending with freezing temperatures and billowing winds, desert bugs and wildlife, and lack of any water. But the reward is the ability to shoot at the golden hours.

After grabbing dinner, it is time to take up the camera and shoot the dunes before night sets in. And while the evening light brings on yellow, and later pink hues on the sand, I prefer shooting the dunes before sunrise when the dunes take on a blue tone reflecting the deep blue desert sky of New Mexico. It also helps that the winds blowing through the night ensure that the fresh ripples in the sand constitutes a new canvas ready for another day of painting by the light.

Even though I have been there twice, this place has enraptured my heart so much that I would never refuse another night of camping in the dunes.

White Sands National Park
NM USA

A National Park Journey - Death Valley National Park

It took me a while to make my way to the Golden State's largest National Park, and that mainly because of how far away the park was, and how the name threw me off. But eventually, I did, and Death Valley was anything but a portrait of death. Instead, I explored towering sand dunes, crawled through narrow sandstone canyons, drove through narrow slots barely the width of a jeep, stood enthralled by the jeweled night sky, gazed from a mountaintop onto the lowest point in the continent and enjoyed the frivolities of an eccentric businessman.

It took me a while to experience these different faces of the park, but I thoroughly enjoyed each and every visit. My most memorable moments were, of course, spent photographing the park at sunrise and sunset. This is one such take from one of the sand dune clusters right as the first light caught the wave-like pattern of the dunes.

Death Valley National Park
CA USA

Black and White Sands

A late afternoon dust-storm picks up fine sand from the dunes of White Sands National Park. This National Park, tucked within two mountain ranges of New Mexico, hosts the largest sand dunes made of gypsum sand that looks like snow, but flows like salt. Finer than regular sand, frequent windstorms easily pick up the pearl white dunes, erasing footprints of days past, leaving being sharp ripples that move every single day.

Due to the constantly shifting dunes, there are no fixed trails here, except for a series of markers for directional guidance. And even though they are small, it is easy to wander and get lost amidst the vast expanse of the dunes. But that shouldn't deter you from making a visit to this unique park in the desert southwest.

White Sands National Park
NM USA