Zabriskism Canvas Print

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Zabriskie Point is an elevated overlook of a colorful, undulating landscape of gullies and mud hills at the edge of the Black Mountains, just a few miles east of Death Valley - from the viewpoint, the flat salt plains on the valley floor are visible in the distance. In the past it was possible to drive right to the edge of the overlook, and several minutes of the famous Zabriskie Point movie (1970, Antonioni) was set there, but since then a new larger car-park has been constructed lower down and visitors now have a short walk uphill. Most people do little more than briefly admire the scenery, which is best at sunrise, but it is easy to climb some of the adjacent hills to get a better overall view, or wander down amongst the variegated dunes. A hiking trail leads through the mounds, down a ravine and into Gower Gulch after 2 miles, while another branch veers north into Golden Canyon.

As a kid I was fascinated with photographs. Look. Life magazine. National Geographic. The well-captured interplay of light and shadow...that very idea of people, places and moments - all suspended in time. My first "real" camera was a Minolta Srt101. I was seduced. As a teenager, I learned to develop film while working at an aerospace testing laboratory in El Segundo. I still recall the smell of the developer, my eyes adjusting to the red filter light. That moment, the sheer magic and delight of watching images begin to emerge. Life, family and a career as a teacher and psychologist intervened, not to mention a few more film cameras. Eventually, there was digital. Liberation! Photography is the creative medium that has allowed...