ReturntoTheDesert

I spotted this Burnt Yucca tree from the highway and circled around to see if I could find a road off the exit with access close enough to walk to it without losing sight of my vehicle and hidden enough so the car wouldn’t be seen in the photo. This is how I find most of my subjects when I adventure out into the world to make new work.

I got lucky during this trip with so many amazing views and perfect mid-summer storm weather to cut the heat and give the skies what I needed to create dynamic images. The only thing missing in this scene for me was the vehicle that burned in this spot, but I’m glad they left the tire.

Edition : 1/1 minted on Tezos July 3, 2022

Location : Owens Valley, California/United States Date : 7/03/2013 Resolution : 3600x2403 PNG, 300 DPI

Surveilled 1/1 tezos

Burnt Yucca 1/1 tezos

Owens Lookout 1/1 tezos

TV Land 1/1 tezos

Bombay Beach, Salton Sea has been a favorite photography location as long as I can remember living in Southern California. My entire childhood I spent time every year visiting grandparents in Palm Desert and camping RV style at the base of the Chocolate Mountains. The Desert landscape will always be my home away from home.

When the opportunity arose for me to leave the hustle of Los Angeles and spend time just me and my camera I packed my bags and headed for the desert. These five images as a series have won awards, exhibited in galleries across the US, published in the coffee table book Best of Photography 2018, and featured on LENSCRATCH. I am happy to offer this work to the Tezos community as 1/1 NFT.

TV Land is minted as part of the #1of1xtz Tezos week, July 2022.

Edition : 1/1 minted on Tezos July 3, 2022

Location : Bombay Beach, Salton Sea, California/United States Date : 7/01/2013 Resolution : 3600x2403 PNG, 300 DPI

For years I have driven past the abandoned Bartlett PPG Plant dreaming of an imagined day when I would have the kind of editorial career that allowed me a budget to shoot such a location. July 3rd, 2013 I decided to stop just off US 395 gazing through the acres of high fence surrounding the Bartlett property giving serious consideration to possibly climbing over and taking that risk.

And then I looked over to my right and saw a woman outside the building not 50 yards from where I stood feeding chickens! With every ounce of cojones I could pull into my throat I trotted through the open gate waving my arms to her “Hello”! Apologizing profusely I explained my obsessive NEED to get inside that structure and asked if there was anyone I could contact for permission. To my utter disbelief she told me to come back at 8:00am the next morning, July 4th, and she would leave the padlock on the gate open for me.

Edition : 1/1 minted on Tezos July 3, 2022

Location: Abandoned PPG Plant, Bartlett, California/United States Date : 7/04/2013 Resolution : 3600x2403 PNG, 300 DPI

Creosote Bush 1/1 tezos

Amboy’s National Chloride Company sits along Amboy Rd seemingly in the middle of nowhere. There is nothing but salt flats and sky as far as the eye can see. Initially I stopped because I wanted a good angle on the crystal turquoise ponds running the length of the highway, but I was too bashful to walk onto the grounds and start shooting, despite the presence of no-one.

The few frames I did manage to capture did no justice to what I have seen other photographers make at this same location. However, across the street on the way back to my car I spotted a brilliant green beer bottle half buried in the ditch gleaming as the sun hit it. And right there, practically in my face, these “souvenir” hanging from the Creosote Bush.

Creosote Bush is minted as part of the #1of1xtz Tezos week, July 2022.

Edition : 1/1 minted on Tezos July 3, 2022

Location : Amboy, California/United States Date : 7/03/2013 Resolution : 3600x2403 PNG, 300 DPI

Minted for 1of1xtz week July 2022