Behind the scenes … 02/17

During these first cold and grayish days of the new year, restricted by rigid new years resolutions and busy schedules, we had been desperately looking for something to brighten up our moods and found this amazing picture by our photographer Martin Moxter. Two women sitting on top of a dune in the middle of a desert, throwing sand in the air. The atmosphere is almost mystical and everything seems to be choreographed just perfectly. We decided to ask Martin to share the story behind this picture with us.

©Martin Moxter/Westend61

Martin, did you have a specific idea before taking this photo? Was the sand all in your models‘ faces and was the atmosphere still as meditative as it appears to be in the picture?

Martin Moxter
Martin Moxter

I had been on a phototrip through Oman with my kids and this picture was taken relatively at the end of our journey. Oman, a country full of foreign smells, incredible heat throughout the day, interesting people, long bumpy and tiring rides in a Jeep and an ever changing landscape.

After a day like this, when all you want to do is to take a refreshing shower and enjoy a nicely chilled beer (which doesn’t exist there) we still decided to go see the sunset in the dunes. We enjoyed great views, that quickly cooling air in the evening, the feeling of the cool and soft sand under our feet, the solitude, impeccable dunes without any human traces, the quickly changing light, the absolute silence and only a slight breeze blowing our hair. The perfect ingredients for a well deserved and funny time out after a long and exhausting day. We ended up playing around in the dunes and throwing sand in the air.

Actually I didn’t really have to do anything else to create this kind of atmospheric photo. The lighting was just right and the smooth breeze didn’t blow the sand in the face of my models. We just went up and down the dunes, threw sand in the air and had an amazing time together. I certainly did have pictures like this one in mind, but not in a very planned out manner, so there was no need for any kind of briefings and motivational trainings.

The only person who couldn’t entirely relax and go with the flow, was our driver because he needed to make sure we’d leave before dawn.

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