Mexico, white dunes and the ocean: Izzotti's shot conquers the world

An extraordinary shot by photographer Andrea Izzotti is among the sixty finalists in the prestigious photo contest of "Smithsonian Magazine," a U.S. magazine. The shot is entitled "The Golden Path" and competes in the "aerial/drone" category: it captures a series of white sand dunes that, in Mexico, overlook the Pacific Ocean. To make it, Izzotti had to make a special effort: "This is a very remote place," he says, "that I discovered by exploring the area with the help of satellite maps. There were these huge white sand dunes, getting there from the sea was almost impossible because of the long ocean wave. Even from land it is very difficult: there are no roads and even off-road vehicles can only get to the beginning of the dunes. We camped just after the end of the road and I drove the stretch between the camp and the sea, crossing higher and higher dunes, until I reached the beach at sunset. From there I set off the drone to observe an absolutely pristine place from above. Here the sun's grazing light created a special effect on the top of the dunes, forming a golden ridge."