![A man walks alone in the desert with only birds and dogs as his companions.](https://jgalleriephoto.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/silverlake2.jpg?w=627&h=418)
Nikon D600
f/22
Photoshop CC, Lightroom 5
This could probably be considered my absolute favorite time of the year. I absolutely don’t mean to sound like I do not enjoy the company of others, or that I don’t want other people to enjoy this beautiful place I am fortunate enough to live in, but the pre-tourist time of year is like heaven for me. All of my favorite beautiful places in their full snow free glory and I have them all to myself. This is especially relevant for Silver Lake Sand Dunes. Although it is my favorite place that is close enough to visit anytime, I never go other than very early spring or very late fall. There is something about the expansive sand dunes that feels isolated and desert like. Something oddly comforting to me about that type of isolation… When the summer sun shines on the merry campers and loud dune buggy-ers bringing life and merriment into the tranquility, the area no longer speaks to me, or if it does I can no longer hear its tales.
For me, I prefer, the isolated “desert” between two bodies of water in the quiet solitude of the “off season”.
I spent a lot of time in the dunes this weekend. None of it entirely alone, but with fellow revelers in peaceful restorative escape. Well, most of them were of like mind. My wonderful dogs, stuck in the house with limited options for releasing energy for the last several weeks, were very excited to be out in the warming rays of the sun. Rather than a distraction however, their joy brought an even deeper level of peace…
I needed the escape. The last few weeks have been a little hectic and there is a lot more hectic on the horizon. Busy is good! Busy makes it so much easier to give time its deserved value.
So now I need to transform the positive energy I gained while wandering the dunes into my photographic visions. So many opportunities to show my work over the next few months! Time to get busy and create some new visions to share!