DESERTS
patterns, vistas, and structures within arid landscapes
Coming from the Pacific Northwest of the US where the plentiful rain produces lush forests, powerful rivers, and greenery that covers the land, deserts are alien landscapes to me.
Perhaps that’s their allure: what might appear barren at first glance reveals strange, beautiful shapes when examined closely through my lens. Patterns within the sand. Trees and shrubs that defy their scorching surroundings. Rocks formed into organic shapes through the power of wind and weather… You can even find the ruins of long-ago civilizations whose people lived in harmony with the desert for hundreds of years.
This Deserts collection highlights the gems you can find across these arid places.
Dune Horizon
The wind-etched ruffles in the sand direct my eyes up to the peak of the dune on the horizon. What lies beyond that next rise, past the heavy silence, heat, and dust?
Mirror Sharp
I have been following this mirage of a mountain range forever, it seems. Day after day, I trudge through desert heat, unable to drink from this deadly water… yet my salvation—those alluring distant hills of gold—constantly slip away from my advance, eternally tantalizing me from the horizon.
Anasazi Eclipse
In the chill of an October morning, the Anasazi ruins perfectly frame the annular solar eclipse. What would I have witnessed, standing in this same room 1,000 years ago? What people would stand together, viewing the heavens? What music would be played, what artwork created? There is no answer for me; these walls remain silent.
Joshua Shadow
We stand next to each other, this Joshua tree and me. In the crisp twilight, we bow together toward the fading light, paying our respects for another glorious day—and in anticipation of what tonight's star-filled sky might bring.
Mesquite Dunes Morning
Three shrubs throw long shadows at sunrise onto the Mesquite Dunes of Death Valley National Park
Doorways
A series of doorways leads the visitor deeper into the ancient Anasazi ruins of Pueblo Bonito in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico
Ripples
The long rays of first light accentuate the ripples the wind makes in the sand dunes of Death Valley National Park
Desert Remains
The skeletal branches of desert shrubs glint in the morning light of Mesquite Dunes in Death Valley National Park
Mirror Salt Flats
A rare rainfall in Death Valley National Park created this shallow lake in Badwater Basin, where a lone bird floats amid an endless salt flat that stretches to the horizon
A Patch of Green
Desert shrubs add green to an endless swath of golden sand in Death Valley National Park
Joshua Stand
A stand of Joshua trees greet the morning light in Joshua Tree National Park
Leading Lines
A vast ribbon of parallel lines in the sand lead the eye into the distance at Mesquite Dunes in Death Valley National Park
Threshold to the Ancients
The doorway has stood here for a thousand years. On my side of the threshold, I am in deep shadow. There is nothing in these ruins but cold stone walls. But on the other side, a warm glow fills the air. I hear hints of whispers, as if the Ancient Ones are beckoning me. Where will this threshold take me? If I concentrate enough as I pass through, can it break the chains of time? I step forward.
Tufa in the Storm
A cluster of tufas--strange rock structures formed in the waters of Mono Lake--stand against the oncoming storm.
The Death that Lingers
You see nothing here but tree skeletons, their uncountable numbers stretching to the horizon. No insect buzz in the dry grass reaches your ears; your eyes fail to find a single bird sailing across the empty sky. What has caused this death of a forest that has lasted for so many years?
Doorway Recursion
Deep inside this abandoned pueblo, there is no such thing as silence. Even surrounded by meter-thick walls, echoes remain. Doorway beyond doorway ushers me forward, tricking my eyes with plays of light and shadow to see what can't possibly be there.
Savanna
A dead tree and the skeletal remains of brush on the edge of Mono Lake form an eerie vista reminiscent of a savanna.