There have been many incredible women who have been part of my life, women who have struggled and succeeded against many odds. But perhaps one person I continue to admire every single day is my partner, whether it be her zest for life, her curiosity to travel, her openness to new adventures, or her passion for social causes. Every single day, I get to learn new stories about her past, and the challenges she has faced in getting to where she is today.
This is dedicated to her tenacity to see and set the world right, and to the other women who have endeavored to do so in their own way.
White Sands National Park
NM USA
Azure Crystals
I find the ripples of the sand dunes quite fascinating: the patterns are ever so numerous, but often gets lost in the vastness of the dunes and the angle of light. But early in the morning, even the tiniest of lines on the sand becomes patterns onto themselves. That is what I seek out every time I am in the dunes.
An early morning in February found me amidst the dunes of White Sands National Park. I was hunting to find the right location where the lines were highlighted by the rising sun. In the gentle pre-dawn light under the deep-blue morning sky, the white sand took on an ethereal hue, slowly changing through different shades of blue as the sun rose up. I knelt down to capture the lines of shadow and light stretching in front of me.
White Sands National Park
NM USA
Light on the Sands
Sunset on the sand dunes can be special. Sunset on white sand dunes with a gusting windstorm is even more.
Just before the pandemic lockdown shut all travel, I had ventured out to White Sands National Monument. My previous trip had been more than 9 years prior, and I had longingly looked forward to this trip. I had planned on camping in the sand dunes as I knew the landscape would turn spectacular at sunset and sunrise.
As luck would have it, the forecast called for gusts of winds up to 20mph which I knew would make for a poor camping experience with sand everywhere. But there was a silver-lining to this: a layer of undisturbed white sand stretching for miles and lending to unique compositions that I would find nowhere else.
What I eventually witnessed as I scrambled from site to site, hunting for new compositions, was beyond extraordinaire. I lucked out with the right combination of weather, light and location in this unique corner of New Mexico.
White Sands National Monument
NM USA
Heart of the Dunes
Walking into the heart of the dunes sounded appealing at the visitor center when I first entered one of the newest National Parks. But at the trailhead, with winds gusting upwards of 20 miles per hour, I had to rethink my decision, since all I could see in front of me was a wall of white blasting down my face.
I had visited White Sands National Park when it was still a National Monument and had hiked down the same trail to the heart of the sands. But back then, it was a calm balmy day, with a gentle breeze and mild temperatures. Quite unlike today.
I decided to go on, climbing over dune after endless white dunes, with nary a sign of life, all while getting sandblasted by pure white gypsum sand. I couldn't even turn back as my footprints were getting erased as fast as I created them. The only thing leading me own were the odd markers sticking above the ever shifting sand dunes.
I survived, but was coated in sand from head to toe. And my camera fared no better. But at least it continued to take photos.
White Sands National Park
NM USA
The Singing Sands
From the distance, it just appeared as a mass of white in a scorched desert environment. Plants seem to have shied away from this natural bowl between two mountain ranges where this mass lay. And as I got closer, the discernible shape of dunes emerged out of this mass of white.
White Sands was a surreal place, where the pure white gypsum sand place tricks with your mind: it looked like snow, behaved like sand, and flowed like salt, and yet, it had all the characteristics of a regular sand dune. And when the winds picked up and whipped into a frenzy, the dust storm of white sand was like nothing else.
I am excited to be returning back to this amazing place. And while it was a National Monument then, it has since been upgraded to a National Park status. Hopefully that brings more attention to this unique corner of New Mexico
White Sands National Park
NM USA
Desert Survival
Every step was measured and calculated, carefully trying to use the least amount of effort in going up and down the rolling white dunes of sand while preventing sand from getting into my boots. And with the rise and fall of every dune, the views changed, horizons shifted, and features modified. The steady winds ensured that footprints disappeared as quickly as they formed. The mass swathes of tourists dwindled down to a steady few.
It was tough going in the loop at White Sands National Monument, dominated by dunes that gave this place its name. But thankfully, there was no real danger: even though visibility was reduced, the frequent and re-assuring trail-markers were ever present; the stewards of the park had ensured that no visitors would go missing.
Nevertheless, the surrealism of the place provided plenty of opportunities to gather some unique compositions against spectacular backdrops - backdrops of the sheer white-washed dunes. This is one such take where the hardy vegetation had taken hold in the tough dry environs that existed at the dunes.
White Sands National Monument
NM USA