The Empty Quarter

“With an area of more than 650,000 km², the Rub’ al Khali is a wilderness encompassing most of the southern third of the Arabian Peninsula. It is in fact, the largest expanse of sand in the world with sky-scraping dunes and ethereal salt flats that cross into the borders of four countries: Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates.”

“Rub' al Khali" literally translated, means "the Empty Quarter” and indeed this has become a recognized term for this area. The desert stretch is second in size only to the Sahara and the largest area of continuous sand in the world. The Empty Quarter is one of the world’s rare mostly unexplored regions. Even its existence feels like a secret reserved for the truly adventurous. The friendliest and most accessible frontier to the Empty Quarter is only a two-hour drive from central Abu Dhabi, to the Liwa Oasis. The Region is immensely photogenic with views of the dramatic dunes during the day and the starry expanse of sky unmarred by city lights at night. A visitor is guaranteed no next-door neighbours, aside from a variety of wildlife like camels, gazelles and falcons.

Within the Empty Quarter’s sea of sand, the dunes ripple in a variety of colours according to the minerals present. As the sun rises (or sets) it brings shadows across the dunes, and it is then that the colours of deep autumnal reds and oranges alternating with peridot greens and yellows, become most vibrant. I was fortunate enough to be at the Empty Quarter during the month of December 2019 to witness the last solar eclipse of the decade. Photographers and enthusiasts congregated in the Liwa desert to witness the phenomenon.

As the eclipse was expected to start at 6 am, coinciding with the same exact timing of the sun rise that day, we had planned to be in the location two hours prior that .We drove through the sand dunes in the early hours of the morning . There was an unconceivable sense of calm, as if the whole desert felt that something special was about to take place. Hardly a noise could be heard other than the occasional passing car. After an hour’s drive into the dunes we found our location. Location is key to photography of an eclipse, so we had goggled the trajectory of the eclipse to be able to witness the full ring. A couple of metres off from the correct trajectory will cost you to lose the beauty and not capture the full spectacle in all its glory.

Once there, we set up our gear and waited patiently. I have seen several lunar eclipses, but nothing comes close to observing an annular solar eclipse. The stillness and tranquillity were only interrupted by the sound of the shutters of our cameras, clicking in unison. The last seconds before its totality is a beautiful scene all on its own. As opposed to a total eclipse the scenery doesn’t become engulfed in total darkness but as the sun rose and the moon slid between the sun and the earth, the colour of the landscape changed dramatically to a beautiful still overcast grey.

The most important thing when photographing such a spectacle is to continually remind yourself not just to photograph it and capture the best images possible, but to also step back, to observe it, enjoy it and bear witness to celestial magnificence..

Camera: Fujifilm xh1

Lens: xf100-400mm

Solar filter: Marumi filter 77mm Nd 100000