The first strip of sunlight makes the rest of a dune look blue. In a photograph, the warm slope and the shaded face can seem to belong to different landscapes. Keep both in the frame: the ridge between them explains the shape.
Pick a position with a local guide before the light changes. Check where you can stand, where the return route lies and whether the foreground is undisturbed. Moving a few steps forward may put footprints through the part of the picture you wanted to keep.
Make one wide frame and one closer study from the same spot. The wide image can include a distant figure or ridge for scale. The closer image might be only a curve and its shadow. Keep the horizon level when it is visible, and check the brightest patch of sand on the camera screen rather than judging exposure from the dark foreground.
Fine sand gets into bags and lens rings. Keep spare equipment covered, avoid changing lenses in blowing sand and follow the guide's advice on water, clothing and conditions. This is a photography note, not a route guide or a substitute for local preparation.
Before leaving, take another picture from the first position. The shadows will have moved. That pair of frames may explain the morning more clearly than a collection made while walking from dune to dune.
