photography
adjusting to a slower life out in the desert country. feeding the wild birds, putting water out for the coyotes, & peanuts for the ravens. hummingbirds circle my house all day, their wings a low buzz.
almost every night I sit out in the dirt circle that serves as my driveway to watch the sunset. the mountains of the san bernardino national forest swallow the sun every night, sometimes crowned in clouds glowing orange or pink.
turbulent skies & songbirds in the mojave today.
spent a few days in orlando for work & while florida is not high on my list of favourite states a walk around the resort grounds with my digicam one afternoon did make things seem a little better.
I spent a weekend in my favourite national park recently, death valley, which is known for being the “hottest, driest, lowest” national park in the united states. right now though, thanks to our strange summer hurricane, pluvial lake manly (the ancient lake which once covered most of death valley) has made a reappearance at the lowest point in north america – badwater basin.
I had thought most of the water would be gone by the time of my january visit but it turns out lake manly decided to stick around a bit longer than expected. the cloud streaked blue skies & mountains reflected in the pristine surface of the ankle deep water made the whole experience feel otherworldly. like visiting the inside of a kaleidoscope.
a bright afternoon on the mesquite flat dunes in death valley. I have been playing with photographing the desert in black & white recently. there is just something immortal about the way these came out.
one freezing saturday morning spent wandering along boston’s charles river esplanade.
a few weeks ago I went to boston for the weekend to check out the john singer sargent exhibition at the museum of fine arts. sargent is one of my favourite painters & I couldn’t pass up the chance to see so many of his works in one place. arriving in boston just before 7 am on a saturday morning meant I had a lot of time to wander. I layered on hiking clothes & windproof fleece in the logan airport bathroom before heading into the city to brave 27 degree temps.
it’s been quite a while since I’ve experienced “real” winter. the sharp cold air & ice gathering along the rivers edge fascinated me.
I’m not normally a year end review kind of person but I have been thinking about all the photos I’ve made this year & wanted to reflect on the ones I’m most proud of. these are probably not the best technical photos ever made, but they are images that I thought “that’s rad” when making & look back on fondly.
they run the gamut from landscapes to street photography & were made on a variety of cameras in a range of locations & on different formats, though I’m a bit surprised to realize there isn’t much film in the mix. I think this year I learned that the camera & the gear matters less than I believed it did when I first got back into photography even if I did still buy a whole new setup this year (the fujifilm xpro3) which I still haven’t fully explored.
here’s to more adventures in 2024!
installations from bombay beach on the shores of the salton sea.
bombay beach was a popular getaway until the 1980s when the increasing salinity & receding water line of the salton sea destroyed the lake’s ecosystem & drove away businesses. bombay beach remains with a population hovering around 200 & is the lowest community in the united states at 223 feet below sea level. it has been undergoing a renaissance in recent years as artists & intellectuals have moved in. the town is now home to numerous art installations & the annual bombay beach biennale.
spent a little time at the poetry house in bombay beach, along the salton sea in southern california. salton sea is one of my favourite places in the whole state & the art installations throughout the town of bombay beach are otherworldly & poignant surrounded by the silent desert & lightly lapping waters.
lomochrome turquoise in joshua tree.
I love bringing this film to the desert.
pentax auto 110 super // lomochrome turquoise 110
attended a fun photo walk / meetup with other woman & non-binary identifying photographers in santa monica this past weekend hosted by not your grandma’s camera club. I used it as an opportunity to play with my new (to me) fuji 35mm f1.4 lens. this lens has a kind of mythic cult following amongst fuji lovers & is well known for it’s “character”. I certainly have not figured out how to get the absolute best out of it, but when I managed to hit the focus (& exposure, I’m also still learning the xpro3) the shots are really nice.
I’ve always loved street photography but never made serious attempts to try it. on my trip to nyc this past winter I was inspired by ming smith (I saw her show at moma while I was in the city) to try some black & white street shots using a new technique for me. I set my fujifilm x30 to all auto settings using a monochrome film simulation & shot from the hip without looking through the viewfinder. this was really exhilarating & something I’d never tried before. excited to try this way of shooting more.
a walk through the mt. hood national forest with my digicam.
I spent a saturday at the orange county fair recently – walking around & people watching. I think fairs are the most quintessentially american experience: a place full of fried foods, sensory overload, sticky sweets, alcohol, over-consumption, price gouging, questionable fashion choices, screaming children, & farm animals.
all shot on my fujifilm x30.
journal:
the heat hung in the air like a weight. when you step out into it a hush surrounds you. the creaking of ancient hills barely registering above the hot breeze brushing through desert shrub & cactus. the roads glisten with warmth & all the creatures slow down to linger in the shade.
the desert is teeming with life, but it is a slow life. a quiet one.
a saturday spent wandering around joshua tree national park & morongo valley california with a 2010 sony bloggie mhs-pm5.
took a roll of lomochrome turquoise film to death valley a couple months ago. the results look like photographs from mars! the turquoise film is super fun even if I do have a hard time deciding when using it will create cool results or just weird ones.
shot on lomochrome turquoise 110 film with the pentax auto 110 camera.
spent a saturday at descanso gardens admiring the blooms.
three iphone shots from my time in death valley on a full moon.
the winter light in death valley is like a caress. rose-hued & hugging the mountains – curling between scrub grass & salt flat. driving the long curving roads like a wave craving sand.
while playing with my new (to me) fujifilm x30 in nyc I fell in love with this monochrome film simulation & the winter light on the city’s buildings.
I loved being back in the city, even if only for a handful of days. I was surprised to realize that as much as I love new york I am very grateful to have made my home in california.
