This is one of a series of photographs I took in Death Valley of the sand dunes in the first light of morning. I wanted to capture the almost skin-like textures and the abstract shapes formed by the shadows and sunlit areas of the dunes. The Panamint Mountains make a great backdrop for these dunes. I used the Pentax 6x7 rollfilm camera on this trip, rather than the 4x5 View Camera, as it has the largest rollfilm negative available and is easier to handle on the dunes, with the sand blowing and possibly getting into the negative holders and damaging the film in a view camera. The ripples in the sand and the abstract shapes made by the dune shadows are wonderful to photograph.
