One curved edge divides the light from the dark, and the whole dune is built around it.
This photograph was taken in the late afternoon in Iriqui National Park near Zagora, southern Morocco. We reached the dunes by off-road vehicle with a local driver, after crossing flat stony desert, passing wild ostriches, and stopping at a small oasis. By the time we arrived, the sun had dropped low enough to carve every ridge into two halves: one glowing, one in deep shadow.
The image is organised around a single S-shaped line. It enters at the lower right, where the sunlit sand is covered in fine, branching ripples, then swings through the middle of the frame and climbs toward the summit. On one side the dune burns a warm orange; on the other it falls into dark brown shade. Behind the ridge, the main dune rises in full light to a clean crest against a pale blue sky with a single thin cloud.
Shot at f/11 and ISO 100 at 70mm, the telephoto view compresses the dunes into stacked layers and keeps the ripples in the foreground sharp. A few small tracks on the upper slope are the only sign of scale.
That night we slept in a tent near the dunes, with local families as hosts. This image is from the hours just before.
This print suits contemporary interiors with natural materials such as stone, wood, and linen. Warm earth tones, one strong line, and a calm sky.
EXIF data of the photograph
- Camera Model: NIKON Z 7
- Lens model: NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/4 S
- Date taken: 19. 2. 2026
- Exposure time: 1/160s
- F-Number: f/11.0
- ISO speed ratings: 100
- Focal length: 70mm
- Size of the photo: 5504 x 8256 px
