Clayton Hauck and his travel buddy Brett had checked into their luxurious hotel to find it virtually deserted, save for a strange man monitoring the pool area and an even stranger exotic bird stalking the grounds. The Liwa hotel is located just a few minutes’ drive from the Moreeb dunes in the United Arab Emirates, home to one of the largest sand dunes in the world. “They host these crazy off-road events and festivals there, with tens of thousands of people,” Hauck says. “But we were there when nothing was on, so we had the hotel pretty much to ourselves.”
A professional photographer based in Chicago, Hauck always uses his holidays as an opportunity to shoot. This image is from a decidedly playful series he and Brett began expanding almost by accident. They first took a shot like this for fun in Sri Lanka and have since replicated it in Bali, Havana and São Paulo, as well as the UAE.
Hauck’s one regret is that he didn’t manage to capture the bird in the background. “It kept wandering away! I got into the water with my iPhone and took a 20-shot burst. Given Brett’s arm right above the water, this was clearly the best one.
“When I’m using my iPhone it feels less serious,” he adds. “I’m not trying to send some important message here; but if someone is inspired to travel, great! I wouldn’t consider it an important photo, just a cool photo. Is there a message here? Get out and see the world.”
