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holes in things
The dunes are breathtaking. The landscapes are otherworldly. The sky’s enormous and very, very blue above the expanse of white.
But also: the tiny landscapes embedded within the vast dunes are also breathtaking. I spent quite a bit of my time lying in the sand to get low-enough vantage points to get the images I thought I wanted. I sort of had a crush on this tiny sand tunnel and made a lot of photos of it. And to add to the fun, I was shooting a camera that’s not my everyday-use one, so I was re-learning it. And the lens I was using that day wasn’t one I’m particularly familiar with. And (and!) the camera’s a manual focus. So there was a lot going on.
But I got the photo I wanted.
White Sands National Park, New Mexico
photographed 12.13.2025
beauty walks a razor’s edge
I suppose that normal people think about White Sands and think about, you know, the white sand.
But these picnic shelters always come to mind: I can remember these exact shapes from my childhood visits to the dunes and I’ve seen vintage photos of them fairly often. Their shapes remind me of the gentle slopes of the dunes, which are of course constantly shifting, but still keep their sinuous shapes.
White Sands National Park, New Mexico
photographed 12.13.2025
discomforting
For some reason, I have the idea that these fishnets would be particularly uncomfortable in the, uh, southern region. It’d only cost a buck and a half to find out, but I think I’ll save some money and just go with my initial assumption.
El Paso, Texas
photographed 12.14.2025
dial tone
Just next to this pay phone there was a sign that said BEWARE OF DOG. The sign was wired to a chain-link fence that had sheet metal panels part of the way up. There was also a dog who was not the least bit happy to see me: he barked and snarled and hurled himself into the sheet metal with such force that I thought for a minute he was going to break right through them. He didn’t do that, but he was able to look over the top of them glare/snarl at me.
Anyway, if I’d gotten in trouble* the pay phone would not have helped me one bit: there was no dial tone, possibly because the dog had gnawed through the cable as part of his dental hygiene process for keeping his teeth nice and sharp.
Fabens, Texas
photographed 12.16.2025
*When I see dogs that I don’t know, I will always assume their Short Range Plan(s) include eating one or more of my legs for a snack. Not that I’m overly dramatic or anything…
One Day | One Image 