Summer is possibly the worst time to visit the desert in Australia, and February is possible the worst time in summer to visit the desert. Its hot, but its the wind that is the problem. Hot northerlies gust across the dried out land barrelling dust before them. This particular trip is memorable for me as it was February 2019, my last trip before lockdown. My daughter, working in the health sector in London had warned me trouble was imminent but I had no inclination of what was in store and was excited to get back out to this favoured area despite the weather.

I drove into the Willandra Lakes area of south western New South Wales expecting heat and it did not disappoint. It was above 40 out on the dunes, and extremely windy. I found it very difficult to focus with the wind coming directly into my face and being blasted with sand. Many of my shots from this trip were out of focus and badly composed. This was to be the last day of my visit and storm clouds had begun to menace the sky by late morning; thunderstorms were expected with the possibility of heavy localised rain. I wanted to get some shots of the dunes with the darkening sky as a backdrop, and I was also hoping for some drifting sand to be caught in the composition. Oddly, the dunes appear quite calm in this image and there appears to be little movement in the sand, but I was happy with the ominous sky as the background to this sensuous dunes field.