On Deserts
Another photo essay!
Before we get into the post for today, a special announcement for my Chicago friends! I’ll be hosting a still life photography workshop with Indigo & Violet Studio on May 2. Leigh will be teaching floral arrangements, and then I’ll take over and we’ll style the arrangements for still life photography. All skill levels are welcome, so bring whatever camera you have (including iPhones!), a bottle to share, and join us for a night of floral fun. Tickets are for sale here.
Welcome to the Tuesday post for all subscribers, another photo essay. On Friday, paid subscribers will receive a recipe for what I have started to call a bag salad (does that intrigue you or what?). As always, you can view more of my work here.
A few weeks ago, we spent a long weekend in the desert of California. What was supposed to be blisteringly hot weather punctuated by an occasional cloud drifting by became a bracingly chilly, rain-filled weekend. Rain in the desert? Yes. Two days in a row! It felt positively biblical.
Since the first time I visited Joshua Tree, the desert has held a strange allure for me. I grew up in Pennsylvania and spent summers in Western New York. For me, warm weather is associated with greenery, lush gardens, and lakes. The landscape of the Southwest could not have been further from that. On a hike during that first visit, I felt a shift in my thinking as I looked at the shades of brown all around me. Where I had glanced upon our arrival and seen only drab colors, I could see greens, oranges, and reds streaking through.
Palm Springs is different, even on years without rain. The resort town that was built on Indigenous lands is now filled with the lush gardens of gated communities, pools whose perfectly chilled water reflects the sunny blue skies, and citrus trees laden with comical amounts of fruits. You get the feeling, driving through, that there should be a sign somewhere giving credit to the millions of miles of water pipes below your feet.
This year, the greenery felt more natural. The hills of the surrounding desert, even, were tinted sage with the brush that has sprung up as a result of a rain-filled winter. The citrus trees were blooming; the palms were effervescently green. I was sad to miss the sun but happy to have my camera on hand to capture the beautiful shades of green.
A highlight of the trip, as simple as it sounds, was the grapefruit tree in the backyard of our Airbnb. I can’t overstate how much joy it brought me to hoist myself up into a tree amidst the citrus blossoms and their perfume and reach out to grab a grapefruit for breakfast. Magical is an understatement.
Here are some snaps from the trip, a color study of sorts. Enjoy!
See you back here on Friday for bag salad! As always, thanks for reading.
Such beauty ❤️