Oh to have fresh eyes..

El Mirage. 2026

Its been 18 months since I moved out to the desert. With its ease of access to many places I would choose to go, I cannot complain. What was once a day trip, or stopover, is now a 30 minute drive, but therein lies the problem. When I used to drive to the Salton Sea in the late 90’s, it took so long to get there that I could leave after lunch and not have long to wait for the magical light to appear. On a cross country road trip, you drive through the day and then arrive somewhere just in time for the same magical light to appear, and so on. But now, waiting all day, its not difficult to get distracted with something else, or have a cocktail and not go anywhere despite many locations only being 30 minutes away, including the Salton Sea.

In the small town I grew up in there is a castle. Its quite a big castle with dungeons, a gift shop, and cafe. People come from far and wide to see the castle, but I have never been. Its a little bit like that now when I know there are many great places to make photographs, but because they are close by, I haven’t been. Its such a weird thing, but like having instant access to anyone on the planet, doesn’t mean you want to call them.

So much for looking at places with fresh eyes…