This is one of many projects submitted to our summer project exercise in Len’s Club. Members had a month to work on a project on the subject of ‘themes and variations’.

Here Sonja Etherington brings us to a world of sand dunes and notes:

“Sand dunes seem to have a primal attraction. Photographers are inspired and drawn to them endlessly trying to capture that ethereal indescribable something that you immediately sense on the dunes.

These are the very white fine sand dunes in the Myall Lakes National park that rise behind Mungo Beach.

We arrived early one morning late December to climb the steep dunes behind a tangle of richly textured Angophoras to be greeted at the top by a dim undulating vastness of pale morning light against rounded deep blue lingering night shadows that stretched before us to a distant increasing luminosity over the sea to the East. An unexpectedly chill foreboding stiff breeze had cleaned away most of the evidence of the previous day replacing it with a clean slate of sandy ripples. Take note of landmarks my head told me. It is easy to lose your point of entry.

Occasional recent animal tracks told the story of early hunters, probably dingoes, and little scurrying creatures or birds seeking something in the safety of the early hours. We had seen the Rainbow Bee Eater flying the afternoon before swooping after bees and wasps and seen where it flew into its sandy burrow, even found the round tunnel entrance to its home under the sand.

As we reached a high point the warmth of the early sun was spreading across the blue sea lighting turquoise through the distant curling waves that nestled in the valley between two dunes, pristine silver spraying behind.

This was a precious morning and I hope to have captured my sense of it.”

Thank you, Sonja, for sharing your beautiful work with us.

Photograph published with permission. Photograph copyright © Sonja Etherington 2022

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