Ethan WalkerPhotographs & short films

Work / 2024

Dune Grammar

Place
North Sea coast
Made
September 2024
Frames
10

Close views of ripples in sand, where wind writes the same sentence over and over with small variations.

Ripples in dry sand are a record of yesterday’s wind. They repeat, but never exactly; where the dune curves or the wind shifted, the pattern bends, splits and starts again.

I photographed them close and from above, without a horizon for scale, at the times of day when a low sun throws a shadow off every crest. A few frames include the top of a dune and the sky behind it, so there is at least one way back to the size of things.

Close view of wind-made ripples in sand under low evening sun, the ridges forming long repeating lines with shadowed lee sides.
No. 01105 mm · f/8 · 1/500 s · ISO 100
Close view of wind-made ripples in sand under high, bleaching midday light, the ridges forming long repeating lines with shadowed lee sides.
No. 0250 mm · f/13 · 1/800 s · ISO 100
Close view of wind-made ripples in sand under flat overcast light, the ridges forming long repeating lines with shadowed lee sides.
No. 0350 mm · f/11 · 1/800 s · ISO 100
Close view of wind-made ripples in sand under low evening sun, the ridges forming long repeating lines with shadowed lee sides.
No. 04105 mm · f/8 · 1/250 s · ISO 100
Close view of wind-made ripples in sand under late afternoon light, the ridges forming long repeating lines with shadowed lee sides. A soft dune crest cuts across the top of the frame against a pale sky.
No. 0590 mm · f/8 · 1/800 s · ISO 100
Close view of wind-made ripples in sand under low evening sun, the ridges forming long repeating lines with shadowed lee sides.
No. 0690 mm · f/8 · 1/250 s · ISO 100
Close view of wind-made ripples in sand under high, bleaching midday light, the ridges forming long repeating lines with shadowed lee sides.
No. 0750 mm · f/13 · 1/250 s · ISO 100
Close view of wind-made ripples in sand under flat overcast light, the ridges forming long repeating lines with shadowed lee sides.
No. 08105 mm · f/8 · 1/250 s · ISO 100
Close view of wind-made ripples in sand under low evening sun, the ridges forming long repeating lines with shadowed lee sides.
No. 0990 mm · f/11 · 1/500 s · ISO 100
Close view of wind-made ripples in sand under late afternoon light, the ridges forming long repeating lines with shadowed lee sides. A soft dune crest cuts across the top of the frame against a pale sky.
No. 1090 mm · f/8 · 1/250 s · ISO 100

Technical notes

Lenses
50 mm macro and a short telephoto
Light
First and last two hours of the day; one overcast afternoon for contrast
Footwork
Walk on the lee side only, otherwise the frame is gone
Processing
Warmth adjusted per session, otherwise straight

In the journal