The Errant Æsthete

Imperial Sand Dunes, California, 2005

Headlights stream up and down the fluid banks of Imperial Sand Dunes, southeast of California’s Salton Sea, in this time exposure. An off-roaders’ paradise, the dunes were blown from the dry bed of Lake Cahuilla, the sea’s ancient ancestor. More than a million fans hit the dunes each year, pumping $54 million into local coffers. The cost? Brawls, fatal crashes, and run-ins with endangered species.

(Text adapted from and photo shot by Gerd Ludwig on assignment for, but not published in, “Salton Sea,” February 2005, National Geographic magazine)