I travelled from San Diego to White Sands in New Mexico in late July to photograph thunderstorms, but, as usually happens, the storms dissipated right after I got there. It was very hot on this particular day, around 95F, and the clouds were clearing in the afternoon, so I wasn't terribly optimistic about doing any photography. I should have had more faith, however, because White Sands offers something beautiful to photograph no matter what the weather conditions are like.

I hiked into the dunes in the late afternoon, and the heat quickly got to me. A lone cottonwood was growing in the dunes in the middle of nowhere, so I sat under its shade. I was looking out over the wide dune fields when I decided to see how things would look close up. I put on my 70-200mm lens and scanned the area, still sitting under the tree.

This yucca plant was part of several growing about a quarter mile from me, but through the telephoto view, I could isolate it against the beautiful curve of the dune. When the sun set and the horizon glowed pink, I had the picture I wanted.

Minimalist images may look simple, but finding that beautiful, simple composition in the middle of a large scene is very difficult. Had I not had a telephoto lens with me, I would have never seen this.

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