Death Valley can be a forbidden and unforgiving landscape, yet the intense heat and the desert dryness makes it a place of endless photographic opportunities.
When my wife and I first drove into Death Valley we passed by Zabriskie Point. There were about two hundred people on the point overlook, all taking pretty much the same photo. That afternoon we drove all around the park, I hardly took my camera out as we drove through the different landscapes of desert, mountains and sand dunes.
The next morning we got up before dawn and drove back to Zabriskie point. We arrived before the first light and there was almost no one else present. After a few minutes some people started to arrive, then more and more, and then as the light came up from the mountains behind us, there were suddenly scores of tourists.
Again I noticed everyone was taking the same picture, and it was pretty much the same photo you can find on their Instagram and Facebook feeds within minutes of visiting the site. So I decided to do something different, something that was out of my comfort zone. I decided that while the light levels were still low, I would take my photos with a slow shutter speed while I move the camera. Most of my images in Death Valley were done that way for the three days we we visited.
The long exposures gave me an opportunity to capture the soft light and rich colors. I chose not to capture an appearance, but rather invoke the sensations of my surroundings. I did not want to freeze a particular moment, but instead explore the timeless landscape. My goal was not to seize memories, but to arrive at a wider experienced. These photographs explore the juncture between earth, sky, time, and the infinite. They challenge perceptions, while still inviting us into a forbidden and unforgiving landscape.
