This desert photography expedition finally captured the desired scene: backlight illuminating sand particles, lines, and layers harmoniously blending – solitary smoke in the vast desert, the sun rounding over the long river. After checking the weather forecast, which indicated strong winds and sandstorms, my fellow photographers felt concerned, but I was nothing short of excited. Because the swirling sand in the wind is my most intriguing subject, and such works are rarely seen. The fierce wind whirled up heaps of sand, sunlight penetrated the airborne particles, and in a situation where I couldn't keep my eyes open, I pressed the shutter button amid countless grains of sand invading my eyes and camera equipment.

Listening to the off-road driver of the chartered vehicle, he mentioned that many people get lost in the boundless desert due to adventures, hiking, and photography. Inside, there's no signal, no water, no sense of direction. When they're found, they're often lying breathless in the sun-drenched wilderness, as he described. There are also those who are never found again. Facing nature, humans are truly insignificant. As Xu Zhuoyun said, an individual's stature is the smallest, the shortest-lived entity, followed by politics, then the economy, society, and culture, with nature being the longest-lasting. This is also the reason I chose to capture natural landscapes. I believe all we can do is coexist harmoniously with nature, hold it in reverence, rather than conquer it.

Camera: Nikon Z9
Lens: NIKKOR Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR
Filter: Velium MagRota CPL