The thing about dunes, is how much they change in shape, color, and contour over time and different times of day. They are dynamic, and transform and “heal” the surface “scars” with time and wind sculpturing. They may glow golden in the evening, as in the image ”Dune at Coral Pink,” and then appear almost white or blue in the mid morning with a blue sky and long reflected shadows of an early rising sun. These images were both shot on daylight balanced film at 5600K, so a true color balance may be hard to get perfect, but there is no doubt that with a large blue sky and a laterally angled sun, the dune appears very blue to both the film and the human eye. We are seeing reflected light, of course, and the sky is a very large reflective surface. The dune in the “Dune at Coral Pink” and “New Paths” is the same dune, so the dynamic color is experienced differently in the morning light than it is in the evening glow. Every time a dune is photographed, it has changed, and new ways of seeing it, are part of the allure. It is both timeless and ever changing. The truth behind the “sands of time” metaphor.
Dynamic lighting spilling across a dynamic landscape. Be there both early morning and during sunset to experience the visual power of billions of tiny particles forming a magnificent natural mandala.
