Desert Dreaming
When the snow hits my mountains (and my city streets), all I can think of is heading for the desert – mostly the red-rock Utah desert. I dream about it day and night: meandering through the cool (yep, it’s winter) sweet sage, the jagged prickly cactus, the empty dry washes …
Mmm hmm.
I’ve been journeying to the Moab area for decades and although it’s getting far more crowded in the spring, summer, and fall – it’s still fairly quiet and inviting in the depths of winter. Camera in hand, this is the time to hike the ups and downs (and mostly flats) of the canyons, cliffs, slick rock, and mesas. Off the beaten path is where the treasures tease.
What Makes a Good Desert Photo?
Contrast! There is absolute beauty in the flat open sage and cactus flats, but the search is for that which is different from that next to it within the desert tapestry – textures, hues, zigs and zags. Opposing and joining lines. Variety is truly the spice of a good photograph!
Light! Of course, you want to avoid the mid-day blahs; so, I often head out in the early mornings to get that warm sleepy glow as it eases across the vistas, and head back out when the sun heads toward the horizon, pulling in the warm, vibrant skirt of sunset toward the edge of the planet. This morning/evening light fills the space with depth and dimension, warmth and vibrancy. (And, if there are people out and about on some of the more popular trails, this is the time there still in bed or grabbing a beer and pizza in town.)
Closeness! Finding those spots, even if you have to crawl flat on your belly to find those spots where sharp meets sand, where ragged meets smooth. The desert often can appear (although it is absolutely not) “the same” when taken in wide perspective. Getting down-and-dirty with the grains of sand, the gnarly bark of pinyon pines, the waves of long-ago-settled ripples in the red sandstone floor. (And, yep, adding variety, contrast, and warm deep-drinking light to your photographs puts it all together!)
Your Connection to Your “Subject”! If you can’t feel it; if you aren’t connecting soul-to-soul with it, that’s going to be apparent in your photograph. I always take that extra second to connect to all that fills the lens: give my thanks to the beauty and the true power; honor the path of past, present, and future, and simply ADORE heart-to-heart what the camera is embracing. My happy on!
If you haven’t spent time in the desert – thinking that it’s boring and monotonous – then maybe it’s time to grab the tent (or the hotel room) and spend some true time in the red-rocking sands! It will fill up your camera, your heart, and your dreams.
Camera on!
A chill in the desert always makes my spine tingle!