Sand

I captured this image as we crested a ridge of dunes at Sossusvlei; with the light near-horizontal at this early morning hour, the eastern side of the ridge was illuminated while the western was cast in shadow. If you look very closely, you can see some tiny footprints -- a lizard, probably -- along the left side of the image. It's incredible that life survives in such harsh surroundings.

Sossusvlei, Hardap Region, Namibia, 8/12/22
Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 IS II on EOS R5
1/640 at f/16, ISO 800