The Desert.

Mojave, 120 degrees, 2020

In all my years of shooting, the desert remains my favorite place to visit, in particular the deserts of the west. The Mojave is hot, and Death Valley part of the Mojave, is the hottest place on earth, a place frequented during the Fridays project. The Sonoran (my latest project) however feels way hotter. But this heat debate is not me simply getting older and therefore feeling it more. Death Valley may have the highest recorded ‘air temperature’ (134.f), but the Sonoran has the hottest ‘ground temperature’ (177.4. f), which basically means you can fry eggs on the rocks and it will burn your skin right off.

Of all the elements I have found the high heat the hardest to work in. Besides almost bursting into flames, you get sweat in your eyes, you cannot think straight, and everything you touch is hot, including the camera. Add a bit of wind and we are are talking; a-dust-covered-sticky-white-hot-Brit.

Technically, despite what some may think, shooting film has not been a problem in this intense heat, you just keep it out of direct sunlight. Digital on the other has been a little temperamental affecting the focus and various functions within the camera including picture preview.

I am still not sure if shooting in extreme heat can look like extreme heat in a photograph. Cold is easy, just add a little frost on a cool blue morning, but shooting at the hottest part of the day really doesn’t look hot and nether does sunset for that matter.