The 23 following images were captured on two successive mornings in late September on a dune-bordered beach in northern Oregon. These are not the monster dunes of central Oregon, but they're none the less rich in structures and shadows. I made the exposures between 8 and 10 am, with the light low on the beach on the downward side of the dunes, revealing signs of life and wind. The closer-up images are gritty -- after all, this is sand -- the wider ones smooth and rich in shadows without the grit.

I will return to these and others of the Oregon dunes , but I will never expect to see what I saw and pictured on these two days.