moroccan picture i wish i took

We were sitting in the Sahara desert on top of a dune. The dune was one of the biggest in North Africa. We climbed all the way to the top, and were exhausted from the hike. Everyone sat down in the sand and looked over the desert. The sand dunes in the distance faded into the sunset. On our right was the sun setting, but it was very dusty from all the sand. The sun was hidden behind the dust, so it almost looked like the moon, since it was not very bright. There was no moon yet, only the beginnings of stars twinkling behind the curtain of dust and sand. Our group leader asked me to teach him how to meditate, since he had heard that I teach yoga. A few other people listened in also. We sat in a line along the top of the Saharan dune. We were cross-legged with our hands resting on our knees in a mudra for meditation. The wind was blowing strongly since we were so high up. As I spoke to the others, I opened my eyes and looked around. Their faces were calm and happy. They were at peace with themselves, and with the world. I felt so connected with nature. The dunes rolled through the desert like an ocean, while at the same time looming over us like mountains. Everything was interconnected.

The light was very dull, because it was sunset and dust was everywhere. The contrast between humans and nature was interesting, because we were literally in the middle of nowhere. Nobody else was around except for the 9 of us sitting on top of the dune. Although there was the strong contrast between human life and the natural life of the desert, there was a unique unity between the two as well. I think this is because the emotions of everyone were so at peace, content, and genuinely happy with themselves and the world. I wish that I had gotten a picture of it! But that experience is something I will never forget.

To take this picture I would need an extreme wide angle lense because I want to capture clearly both the figures and the landscape. I would also need the diaphragm to be around a 2.8 so that I could capture the image clearly. It was dusk, so the shutterspeed would need to be 1/16 or 1/12 in order to get enough light in the photograph. I would like the picture to be very clear and contrasted to emphasize the contrast of figures/landscape, so Retinol film would be best.

Kelsey