Sandscape

A Journey of Light and Texture

No other landform captures my imagination and attention more quickly than does a dune field. At any given moment, depending on the light, a dune can take on the appearance of water - both the shimmer and flow - or emulsify into what appears to be a thick undulating molten soup. Still other times, sand can take on almost human form in the sensual way it mimics skin and spine. This landscape seems immobile, but is ever moving, ever changing. Nature's etch-a-sketch, an evening of wind can erase all human evidence and reconfigure the dune into new forms by morning's first light.

The images in this gallery were shot at dune fields around the western U.S. They include White Sands National Monument in New Mexico, Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado, the dunes at Stove Pipe Wells in Death Valley National Park, and Coral Pink Dunes State Park in Utah.