michael anderson

The last beams of daylight filter through an old lattice window onto a praying monk in a rarely visited temple in Bagan, Burma (Myanmar).

Storm clouds clear shortly after sunrise, revealing the dramatic splendor of the ancient ruins of the lost city of the Inca.

A warm tropical sunrise illuminates the lakes and dunes of the Lencois Maranhenses. I was happy to see the sun again after a powerful thunderstorm rocked my campsite overnight. I had watched with trepidation as a towering wall of black clouds moved in toward me after sunset. Huge cracks of thunder were breaking the silence. A powerful wind kicked up and I realized I better set up my Bivi Sack before the wind made it impossible. Just as I got it set up, the purple rippled bottom of the thunderstorm let loose with driving rain. I dove into the Bivi and waited for the thunderstorm to pass, hoping to try a few starlight shots when it was over. But the storm didn´t stop. It grew stronger as the night turned utterly black. Lightning was flashing through the fabric of the Bivi and I could feel the sand underneath me vibrate with the thunder. Lightning and thunder were flashing and crashing every 20 seconds. I had set my bivi up on a fairly low spot in the dunes, but it was still pretty wild out there and I was flinching with every crack of thunder. It was surreal being alone out there, and the sky was SO black except for the sharp flashes of lightning. I finally fell asleep, wet and cold from a leak in my bivi bag. When I woke up again, the last stars had begun to fade and I could see the storm had finally drifted off to the far horizon. I quickly grabbed my camera out of a dry bag and made it to this spot just as the first warm rays of sunrise hit the dunes and the sand began to dry out...

Lencois Maranhenses, Brazil.

A powerful thunderstorm darkens the sky over the dunes of Lencois Maranhenses National Park. I spent three days trekking barefoot fifty miles across the dunes in May, 2010. 'Lencois Maranhenses' or 'the sheets of Maranhao' are an immense coastal dunefield near the delta of the Amazon River. The drenching rains from powerful equatorial thunderstorms fill the depressions in the dunefield with crystalline fresh water lakes which makes the area unique among the great landscapes of the world. The dark shadows of passing storm clouds create spectacular patterns of light on the snow white dunes, illuminating the clear aquamarine lakes while cracks of thunder break the silence of the landscape, adding to the surreal beauty. I was utterly captivated by the delicate patterns in the sand, the tropical breeze, the silence, the star filled skies and the immense emptiness of this amazing land.

Twilight among the sculpted boulders of the Seychelles. Thanks in advance for any commentary.