Size: 7.5” x 7.5” on 8.5” x 11” JonCone Studio Type 5 Paper

Signed & stamped in verso

There’s an economy of nature in the desert that doesn’t exist in other ecosystems. The Mojave expresses this more clearly than any other desert I’ve been in. Nothing feels superfluous here the way excess moss does in the rainforests in the Northwest. Because of this thrift, it’s a visceral truth that death here is not far off. The limits are set by the land, not by man. Accept that you are but visitor in this place, your body requires too much water for it to be any other way.

Walking onto desert dunes under predawn light is walking into a cathedral. I walk up and over ridges and down into gullies until I see extending far to the north an endless array of dunes. It’s almost sunrise and anticipating the suns angle I setup down ridge and wait.

Technically I’m waiting for the light to creep down the ridge and add the depth needed. But in these moments, alone in the wilderness I’m waiting for nothing.

Location: Stovepipe Wells, Death Valley NP

Technical Info: Hasselblad, Kodak T-Max 100 BW Film, Zeiss 50mm, Red #25, Polarizer, N+1 developed in Kodak X-tol 1:1