Raúl Cruz Arnelas was one of the lucky few to obtain a permit. The 40-year-old Spanish photographer spent his allotted day exploring and photo-documenting The Wave accompanied by his accountant wife, Susana Maese Pérez (above). “Being in The Wave was like being dropped onto another planet,” explained Arnelas. “I felt like I was an alien. There was definitely a sense of standing in front of something very different and surreal.”
“I was the first person to arrive at that day,” added Arnelas. “I wanted to show through the pictures how remote and different this place looks with only one person (Susana) wandering around.” Fortune smiled down upon Arnelas as the weather was perfect and the desert’s deep azure sky contrasted magnificently with The Wave’s varying shades of earth-tones.
