The Great Dunes, Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado

(Click image to enlarge)

This photograph was made on a very windy evening under spotty sunlight as sand blows over the surface of the dunes. The spotty light and the blowing sand are both responsible for the shading seen in the image. A 600mm lens was used to capture the photograph. The long focal length allowed compressing the distance between the background mountainside and the dunes, in addition to allowing a good distance between the photographer and the most extreme amounts of blowing sand. At about 750 feet (229 meters) these sand dunes are the highest in North America. The dark mountains in the background reach an elevation of 13,414 feet (4089 meters).

Along our 1580 mile (2543 km) drive to this location I developed a significant vision problem in my viewfinder eye. Think of viewing the world through an old lava lamp containing black lava. It was Sunday at around noon and we were in very rural western Nebraska. I did not want to turn around so I kept driving until we came upon a "Hospital" sign at a freeway exit in the middle of nowhere. We eventually found the smallest hospital I've ever seen. There I was told I needed to see an ophthalmologist immediately, but they do not have one. Instead they called an ophthalmologist who runs a clinic in different rural town a half hour away. It was closed on Sunday but the doctor, late for a family portrait appointment, opened it to examine me. Long story short, I did not need immediate surgery as was feared and my vision would resolve itself over the next year or two. I was told to rest, avoid vigorous activity, and have a follow-up exam in a week.

Strictly following this advice would mean returning home, two days drive away, and trashing all of the plans we had. There would be no doctors or eye clinics in the remote places we would be visiting. Resting was not on the itinerary but I could use some restraint in what I did for the next few days. After asking many questions about what happened and the likely course of the problem I decided to continue the trip as planned. I was anxious and depressed knowing that if I was unable to take pictures in a reasonable way I would have no choice but to return home. I was also anxious about the future of my vision.

The image above, captured the day after my eye exam, is the first I captured on that trip. For reasons I'll not go into here the process was very slow and awkward but it proved I could still take pictures. The relative success inspired me to continue the trip, which lasted for several more weeks. A fairly large print of this image hangs in our house and is still serves as an inspiration.