Morocco Desert plains surrounding Marrakesh

The desert plains around Marrakech in Morocco are difficult to pinpoint geographically but are well worth exploring for photographic opportunities once you've had your fill of Marrakech's bustling markets and intricately carved matters. Not only do they offer surreal desert landscapes but also crumbling fortresses and simple adobe farmhouses with prickly pear growing out of every conceivable nook and cranny.

The images above were shot from a moving train going from Fez to Marrakech. A relatively high ISO of around 800-1600 coupled with an extremely fast shutter speed was necessary to eliminate the motion blur. I also shot in burst mode to deal with rail posts passing through the foreground. About 1 in 20 shots turned out to be usable. Obviously, these were not ideal conditions for shooting a landscape but the strong late afternoon light was too good to pass up.

Although I discovered this area on the Marrakech-Fez train line, if I had the opportunity again, I would probably hire a knowledgeable guide and a driver to help me navigate the desert. There seem to be roads crisscrossing the desert connecting the farms but most of them are dirt and unmarked.