Joshua Tree 10.23
This past October, I got the opportunity to take a fieldtrip to Joshua Tree, CA with other members of The Spectrum Art Gallery. It was the perfect weekend to get shots of the Milky Way, but also (and this was an unexpected surprise) the solar eclipse was that weekend as well!
This was the second time I camped out in the desert. The first time being earlier this year when we did a fieldtrip to Alabama Hills, CA. As a California native, you would think I would have been to the desert before - but no. I have driven through it to get to other places, but never really stayed in the desert. Furthermore, as a kid I thought the desert was pretty ugly. Even where I live - in California’s central valley - is technically a desert that’s been irrigated into some semblance of “non-desert” landscape.
All that to say… something changed in my view of “beauty” back in 2016, when I went to New Zealand. The wonderful and distinct landscapes of that country made me look at things differently when I got home. The ochre rolling hills near my home brought more wonder than before; the oak trees whispered of decades thriving in a place with limited water.
So last month, when I was making my way to Joshua Tree on lonely single lane roads with nothing on either side of me but bare hills, I got another variant of California I hadn’t seen before. And it was beautiful.
It’s rugged, bare, prickly, bright, muted, and full of people who have decided to live in a place that requires real robustness. Locals’ art installations, peppered here and there, are particularly wonderful in their grittiness.
Joshua Tree National Park is expansive and has a particular cactus - called the Cholla - that captured my heart. It looks like something you would want to hug because of the “fuzziness” but loooord have mercy, those suckers can cause some serious damage if you edged too close. But no matter the danger, at all hours they glow with some ethereal magic.
I did some “sunlight beam” play that I haven’t really utilized before as a photographer. Usually when I get those orbs or streaks of sunlight in a photo, I kick myself because I didn’t notice it when I was taking the photo. This time, because of the landscape, I embraced the beams of light - hoping to show the context of the bright desert atmosphere.
A house stood on our rental property; it was…shall we say…torn apart? It looked like someone went through and just destroyed it as best they could, without burning it down. It made for some interesting photos, capturing the Milky Way as a backdrop. I wanted to know so badly what happened to that house.
I hope to get back and explore Joshua Tree more in the future. It really is a magical place. I hope you enjoy the photos (click them to see the full composition) and leave a comment on what you think! If there is a photo that catches your eye that you are interested in buying, check out the store for price points on sizes, and reach out to me directly!
