Sand dunes are my latest photographic obsession. Their vast spaces, their innumerable shapes and patterns make them a minimalist’s visual dream.
But this particular scene breaks my typical vision of dunes, where I purposely look for compositions that keep the dunes “pure” in the sense of only showing sand—or with a minor bit of grass or tree for contrast. Instead, these two unusually steep mounds of dune grass completely turned the tables on my original photo quest, becoming the stars of the shoot.
I spent some time carefully circling the humps to locate the optimal viewpoint, walking far enough out to prevent my footsteps from inadvertently ruining the shot. Although I took several images from a few different positions, this perspective—achieved by lowering my tripod to its shortest height and placing it at the bottom of a dune slack—raised the top of the nearer mound up above the horizon, enhancing its resemblance to a volcano.
But the real treat was the scattered sprigs of individual grass plants in the foreground. In this volcano narrative, they took on an entirely different reality, where their blades transformed into ejecta: streaks of dirt blown up from the impact of an eruption… only this time, an eruption of life.
About this Artwork
Entitled, Dune Volcanoes, this photograph demonstrates the glorious sunsets I’m fortunate to capture right from my back yard overlooking Puget Sound.
The work is available as a limited-edition framed print. Its accompanying narrative is etched into a black acrylic plaque, designed to be hung next to the print, as shown in the following illustration.
Click the image below to visit this piece’s detail page where you can read its narrative, check availability and pricing, and more.
Click to visit this artwork’s detail page in my portfolio.