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Tag: desert infrared

  • Ocotillo in Silence – Desert Abstraction in Infrared

    Ocotillo in Silence – Desert Abstraction in Infrared

    This image captures the ethereal form of an ocotillo in full isolation, shot in infrared at Joshua Tree National Park. Its long, spiny branches stretch upward like delicate calligraphy against the blackened desert sky—a ghostly dance of light and structure.

    The ocotillo is one of the desert’s most uniquely expressive plants. In visible light, it can blend into the harsh terrain. But in infrared, its delicate branches flare white, revealing textures and structures the eye can’t normally see. The deep black sky and distant mountain ridge serve as a stark backdrop, enhancing the surreal, almost lunar quality of the moment.

    This photo is part of our ongoing Americana Project, specifically within the sub-series exploring infrared desert landscapes. The scene speaks to stillness, survival, and the abstract beauty of the American Southwest.

  • The Long Road – Monument Valley in Infrared

    The Long Road – Monument Valley in Infrared

    Shot with a Nikon D2X converted for infrared photography, this image captures the legendary view from Forrest Gump Point on Highway 163—where endless road meets timeless landscape. This stretch between Monument Valley and Mexican Hat, Utah, is etched in cinematic history as the spot where Forrest Gump famously stopped running, with the buttes of Monument Valley standing solemn in the distance.

    In the infrared spectrum, the familiar transforms. The asphalt shimmers with alien intensity, while the desert terrain turns ghostly white, and the sky deepens into a void of stark black. Monument Valley’s towering sandstone formations rise like silent sentinels from another world, frozen in time and shadow.

    The composition—perfectly centered on the broken white line—pulls the viewer down the road into the surreal horizon, symbolizing both a journey through the American West and a passage through visual imagination.

    This isn’t just a photograph of a place made famous by Hollywood—it’s a reimagining of an icon, filtered through the lens of infrared light and a camera that still holds up in a digital world driven by megapixels.

  • Desert Sentinel – Joshua Tree in Infrared

    Desert Sentinel – Joshua Tree in Infrared

    In the high desert of Joshua Tree National Park, the sun bears down relentlessly, and even the hardiest plants take on an otherworldly beauty. This infrared image transforms the stark reality of the Mojave into something dreamlike—where the sky turns jet black, the scrub glows white, and the yucca tree stands alone like a quiet sentinel.

    Shot with an infrared-converted camera, this photograph highlights the reflective properties of desert flora, exaggerating contrast and revealing textures invisible to the naked eye. The strong midday shadows deepen the drama, while the deep black sky creates a canvas of high-desert minimalism.

    Joshua Tree is a place of extremes—heat and stillness, life and emptiness. This image is part of our Americana Project, capturing the strange beauty and solitude found in some of the most iconic landscapes of the American West.