Into the Great White Sands

Craig Varjabedian, Jeanetta Calhoun Mish, Dennis Ditmanson , Jim Eckles

$92.99

Paperback

Forthcoming
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English

University of New Mexico Press
21 October 2025

Individual photographers; Caravan & camp-site guides; Places & peoples: pictorial works

Photographic masterpiece on beloved White Sands National Park; now in paperback. Winner of the New Mexico-Arizona Book Award for Photography. Like Ansel Adams in a contemporary and pristine setting. Powerfully relevant today.

Winner of the 2018 New Mexico-Arizona Book Award's Father Thomas J. Steele Award for History

Award-winning photographer Craig Varjabedian has spent decades photographing the many moods of the magnificent and ever-changing landscape of New Mexico’s White Sands National Monument. His photographs reveal snow-white dunes of gypsum, striking landforms, storms and stillness, panoramic vistas and breathtaking sunsets, intricate windblown patterns in the sand, ancient animal tracks, exquisite desert plants, and also the people who come to experience this place that is at once spectacular yet subtle. Varjabedian’s evocative color images provide the reader with an almost palpable sense of this extraordinary place.

These photographs are enriched by several essays written by Jeanetta Calhoun Mish, noted poet and author; Dennis Ditmanson, retired White Sands National Monument superintendent; Jim Eckles, retired Missile Range public affairs officer; and Craig Varjabedian, the photographer who shares his insights and experiences of photographing this inspiring landscape and offers tips on making better pictures of White Sands.

By (photographer): Craig Varjabedian
Contributions by: Jeanetta Calhoun Mish, Dennis Ditmanson, Jim Eckles
Imprint: University of New Mexico Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 241mm, Width: 305mm, Spine: 13mm
Weight: 272g
ISBN: 9780826368980
ISBN 10: 0826368980
Pages: 136
Publication Date: 21 October 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Craig Varjabedian is a renowned photographer and author. His most recent UNM Press book, Landscape Dreams, A New Mexico Portrait, won the prestigious New Mexico–Arizona Book Award. Based in Santa Fe, he photographs throughout the American West and teaches at Eloquent Light Photography Workshops.

Reviews for Into the Great White Sands

“The artist skillfully chronicles his immersion into this breathtakingly vast and strikingly intimate world and reveals the stories of this otherworldly place through emotionally evocative photographs. Varjabedian has suspended in time the many magical moments he experienced while chronicling the unique White Sands landscape.” —The Eye of Photography “If you prefer open space and simplicity, this award-winning photographer takes you there with an eye for detail, contrast, and composition. . . . Beautifully done.” — Enchantment ""Put professional equipment into the hands of a master like Craig Varjabedian and he'll find stunning beauty, great recreation, and a few surprises. . . . The pictures truly are the thing. And they are gorgeous."" —New Mexico Magazine