It’s very hard to describe the feeling I get whenever I photograph Rub’ Al Khali or the Empty Quarter as Westerners call it. And that’s what it is; a world of harsh extremes and the least hospitable place on Earth. This lonely, barren wasteland also features the hottest, driest and the harshest climate anywhere on this planet. It’s the world’s largest sand desert, spanning across 4 countries. It’s the Arabia’ sea of sand, covering approximately 225,000 square miles (583,000 square kilometers).
For thousands of years this territory has resisted human settlement as one of the Earth’s most unyielding environments.
Because of these sandy expanses, not to mention its profound heat, the Sands have long been judged too unforgiving for all but the most resourceful humans, considered more a wasteland to cross than a landscape to settle in. Still, along its edges—and venturing across it from time to time—the dozen tribes of leathery and enterprising Bedouin, also known (especially in Arabia) as Bedu, have survived here since before recorded time.
You need to experience it to understand just how incredibly peaceful and quiet the nature can get. Rub’ Al Khali is place of desolate contemplation and seductive, mysterious beauty which I can’t explain. As a subject of photography, this desert represents the ultimate design of nature of unequaled beauty and ever changing complexity. Every landscape photographer should experience it at least once in a lifetime.
Photographed from Bell 412 helicopter with Canon 5dmk3 and Canon 24-105mm lens
Processed on a custom built PC with Windows 10 Pro 64 bit / 128GB RAM / dual Titan-X cards / Dual Xeon E5-2690v3 24 physical cores – 48 threads / Samsung Pro 1TB internal 850 SSD drive / ARECA 8-Bay SAS Raid-6 12Gbps SSD external storage / ARECA SAS Raid-6 12Gbps 100TB massive storage
I used a Wacom Americas Pro tablet + pressure sensitive pen for dodging/burning.
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