Behind the shot: Desert light

Desert light is fast. From the moment the sun clears the horizon you have maybe twenty minutes before the colour drains out of the sand and the shadows flatten.

Scouting in the dark

I walked every dune the afternoon before, marking positions on my phone so I could find them again at 5am by headlamp.

One lens, one body

Changing lenses in blowing sand is a quick way to ruin a sensor. The whole series was made on a single 70–200mm lens.

Wait for the wind. It erases your footprints and draws new lines across the dunes.

Printing the series

The prints are made on cotton rag paper, which holds the soft gradients of the sand far better than gloss.