There will be more White Sands photos later…but I’ll start with this one.

I thought the dunes themselves would be so interesting to photograph, but (and this wasn’t really a surprise because I am familiar with my work) what I liked the best was the separate life of things in the alkali flats between the dunes. The plants take on otherworldly shapes, there are tiny tracks made by invisible creatures, and there are elaborate patterns on the surface made by the elements (wind mostly, sometimes rain). Ancient ancient dune movement is revealed and it feels as if no human has seen this – this exact thing – ever before.

For me, the experience became one of seeing the tiny landscapes that populated the one that was too huge to understand. 

White Sands National Park, New Mexico
photographed 12.21.2025