Red Dunes at Sossusvlei
Sossusvlei, Namibia, September 2000

Shaped by the wind over thousands of years, the red dunes at Sossusvlei are reputed to be the highest sand dunes in the world (the ones in this photo are almost 1,000 feet high). With the sun arcing down toward the horizon, I began the exhausting climb to the top of one of the dunes, only to realize that its true summit lay far beyond in the distance. A driving cloud of fine sand permeated every crevice of my camera as I photographed the dreamlike landscape. When the sun set, I packed away my camera and tumbled down the soft, steep side of the dune to rejoin some friends patiently waiting at the bottom.

Copyright 2000 Martin Wierzbicki