Death Valley has its name for a reason. It is a stiflingly extreme place – which only made me more excited to photograph it!

On the day I captured this VAST photo, by the time the sun had risen over the mountain range to the east, it was already 39 degrees Celsius. I had attempted to shoot the previous evening however, not only was it too hot, but trying to climb up sand dunes at that temperature was impossible.

Capturing sand dunes may seem like an easy task when it comes to finding the right composition, but it can be very deceiving. Once you peak one dune, you think "it will look better over the next dune", and the endless hunt begins. It can take hours or even days to find the right composition that feels artistically compelling.

Knowing the amount of time finding the right composition takes, I started my hike as soon as there was enough light to see the dunes in front of me. As the sky slowly brightened, I hunted. I finally found the ideal spot just before the sun rose and was able to be in the right place at the right time with the right light, to capture this ultra-high-resolution VAST photo.