Moonset, White Sands National Monument

During a quick road trip through the American Southwest, I was able to make a quick stop at White Sands National Monument, a small stretch of sand dunes outside of Alamogordo. The pure white Gypsum sand was unlike anything I had ever seen before. The dunes went on for miles, looking like piles of snow in the middle of the desert. It was a unique photographic experience for me because I naively assumed that if you've seen one dune you've seen them all, but I couldn't have been more wrong. Each dune has a unique blend of textured ripples, steep faces and winding curves along the spines of the dunes. 

This photo was taken just days after last years "Super Moon", so the moon was on my mind as I was out in the desert. As I started to trek up the side of a 60' tall dune, I saw the moon about to set on the western side of the dune field. I knew this was going to be an abstract photo as I pressed the shutter release, and it stands to be one of my favorites from the road trip.

By: Kaz Canning