Incident at White Sands

Kurt and I were excited to get back to the White Sands, our favorite National Monument! Our last visit was in 2014 so Kurt was eager to return and get started on his new series revolving around UFO and monsters.

We are currently camping in Oliver Lee State Park, a small park on the foothills of the Sacramento Mountains with sweeping views of the valley. From our campsite we can see the town of Alamogordo, the White Sands, Holloman Air Force Base and part of White Sands Missile Range. On occasion, we can even hear missiles being detonated on the range miles away from us. 
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The day Kurt got the shot with the UFO, we were fortunate to have a sky filled with contrasting clouds. After a quick lunch near the dunes, we got our gear ready and hiked up the first mound expecting to see rolling dunes. Instead, we were overlooking picnic shelters and a road, not exactly what Kurt had envisioned as a backdrop for his scene :) We decided to get back into our van and drive further into the park to seek out a more natural environment. 

Rolling dunes and the San Andres mountains in the background

We finally found our spot and Kurt worked on flushing out his idea. His original thought was to have a lone UFO fly over the dunes, in time he inserted a figure into the scene to add to the story.

As far as the weather was concerned we could not have asked for better conditions: the air was still, the temperature was comfortable and the light was soft and warm. The added texture and colors in the clouds added drama and energy to the final shot.

Kurt contemplates his scene

Final image