A hot smelly old friend.

Leaving Middle America, December 2023

With Middle America now but a distant memory, I focus my attention back to the big stuff and part two of my desert project, The Deserving Oasis (working title). As much as I loved being in the Mojave (Fridays Rainshadow), this next chapter takes place in the Sonoran Desert, a very different beasty indeed. In 2002 I spent the best part of twelve months working in the Sonoran desert around the Salton Sea. Every Thursday I would head out from LA with ten 8/10” dark slides and spend the day sheltering from the intense heat in the abandoned structures until the sun went down before making some images (usually ten), and then driving back to LA bathed in sweat, dust and a baked on smile. The heat of the Sonoran made everything difficult, but the results always made it worthwhile. This time things will be a little different, mainly the camera, (my knackered old panoramic), and perhaps a better idea of where things are (no GPS last time). But my hope is that my hot, smelly old friend hasn’t changed too much.