Touring, Teetering and Evolving

I took a small trip into the desert the other day to see some family. And because I haven't been out of town in way too long, I decided to make it a picture taking trip. Meaning: turning a 2 hour drive into a 5 hour drive, exiting the freeway just to get back on going the other direction numerous times, pulling over on the shoulder of the freeway, and following that one road 'til it ends.

My destination was Joshua Tree, but because it gets dark so damn early this time of year, I was leaving Palm Springs as the sun was going down and realized I would hit Joshua Tree once it was too dark to see anything. And I had left my flash light at home.

So I took way fewer pictures than I was hoping, and did not get as far as I thought I would. But so it goes.

I rented a medium format 4x5 camera from school and taught myself how to work it (pretty self explanatory compared to the digital monsters I am used to) with the hopes of shooting film through the desert. I wanted to see if the difference in camera made me see the sights through my lens differently. Or take a picture differently.

So I shot with My D200 and my 4x5, trying to pay attention to what I look for in a photograph. And how much of my photographing process is impulsive and reactionary, and how much of it is planned, structured, and deliberate.

All I have to share with you now is the digital batch. My film is being processed. So here you go: