JANUARY 27, 2017 SOUTHWEST, USA
I first visited White Sands National Monument in New Mexico 20 years ago with my father and sister. It was a relatively quick trip into the park.
My family wasn’t interested in waiting for the “good” light. And I’d only packed a film camera and one lens. Frustrated by this decision to travel light and blown away by the magic of the all-white landscape, I promised myself I’d return one day to photograph this place… the right way.
This past December I honored that promise and returned to New Mexico, on my own and armed with a Hasselblad and tripod. I’d also blocked out two full days to experience the desert.
As I journeyed into the white abyss, dozens of tourists and thousands of footprints were everywhere. This was not the pristine landscape I’d come for. I’d have to hike into the rolling dunes an additional two miles before setting the tripod into the virgin sand.
Sometimes you have to literally go the “extra mile” to get what you’re looking for. I was happy to rediscover that while many things in life change, the untouched white sands of my memories, an awe-inspiring natural zen garden of pristine, alabaster dunes, remains for those willing to go the distance.
View more from the White Sands gallery
