Mesquite Sand Dunes | Death Valley Maternity Session

The Mesquite Sand Dunes remind me of the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes in Michigan in some ways. Yet, at the same time they are so different.

These sand dunes are seemingly placed in the middle of no where. They are filled with desert shrubs, and surrounded by mountains. In Michigan, our dunes are on the water, with dune grasses. I love the unique Death Valley landscape that Shashank and Shikha chose for their maternity session. We met up a couple hours before sunset, then hiked out as far as we could go to try to get away from the footprints of others. It was a successful adventure for our sunset in Death Valley. We were blessed with dune ripples, desert shrubs, and a golden sunset to cast its light over the landscape

Since these two were on vacation from New York with Shashank’s parents, we got a couple photos with the whole family. Shashank and Shikha wanted a silhouetted photo of the whole family. I knew the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes was the perfect location for a photo like that. I also knew how easy it would be in direct sunlight. I had to push some settings but it was easy to do. A tall dune ridge was all we needed to get them elevated up into the sky for a contrasted shot. It’s not the first time I’ve captured a photo like this so I knew exactly what I needed to do to recreate this. I love how unique of a view I can get from the dunes.

Only a 2 hour drive from Las Vegas, I love how accessible this National Park is. The Mesquite Sand Dunes are one of many of the unique landscapes to explore in Death Valley.