I have always been an outdoorsy person, but the thought of visiting sand dunes during high winds was a little nerve-racking. Nevertheless, stepping inside those intense conditions made me see things in a new light. For almost a month, every moving component of my gear made a "crunchy" noise because of sand particles in it. I still cannot understand how sand managed to get inside the deepest zippered pockets. Also, besides my fellow photographers, not having a single soul in the entire desert made me realize how much fun it is to shoot during these conditions when everyone has left. There are some things in life that you can only learn in a storm.