I was on a work trip and realized I was only an hour outside of Great Sand Dunes National Park. Having never photographed in sand dunes before I started hiking into the dunes from the parking lot prior to sunrise.
As the sun started to come up I was lost trying to find the right composition. Getting more and more frustrated and knowing I was running up against the clock with light and my work timeline I decided to pack it in and venture back to the car with nothing but a few ‘meh’ photos and the memories of being there.
I was hoping I might be able to get some decent shots on the walk back by looking up at the dunes instead of being immersed in them. As luck would have it, I passed a friendly group of sand boarders on the way up. As I tracked their progress I was able to capture layers of sand dune symmetry as they made their ascent.
It was a solid reminder to myself to mitigate frustration and to stick with it. A day out is always better than a day in and sometimes just turning around to reflect on where you came from can yield the best results.
Shot on a Sony A7IV with the Tamron 35-150 2-2.8, edited in Lightroom.