Sunday, May 15, 2022

Apocalypse Now



It’s one hell of a note when your best images were made in hour four of a 72-hour photo safari. Except for the set included here my efforts in my latest sortie into Navajo Country were wanting. I fear that I ventured forth with less than a full tank, inspirationally speaking.





I had planned the trip with a clear objective, to create more and better photographs for the July-August issue of Shadow and Light magazine. Then I discovered I’d inverted issues. The article was for the May-June issue, so I had the three days to write the thing. That meant I’d have to make do with the photographs in hand. Thankfully the photographs did the trick. They supported the story Cruel Beauty, uh, beautifully.

So, my motivation for the trip was dampened. I didn’t really have to go. But I thought, “What the hell? You’ve already blocked the time. It’ll be fun and you do love the Navajo Nation.” I packed for week and was back in three days which tells you everything you need to know.

This grouping was made in 60mph winds while I was blasted by Shiprock, New Mexico’s finest sand. It was a scene from the apocalypse. The end was nigh and all I got was a mouth full of grit and these six dandies. These were all taken at high noon though the blowing sand turned day to dusk in some of them. That's the silhouette of Shiprock itself obscured by a veil of blowing sand in the bottom photograph.

As to Shadow and Light, I’m in my fourth year as a regular contributor. My byline is called Telling Stories. In the May-June issue I juxtapose the Navajo Nation’s breathtaking beauty and rich culture with the reality of its “temporal deprivation” as I call it in the story.

Heads up. I'll be forwarding a special subscription offer for the worthy online magazine in the next couple of days.

1 comment:

Blacks Crossing said...

Wind be damned. You survived (and better) the wind and sand near and on the Navajo Reservation. The Shiprock in sandstorm image is wonderful, but I also loved the sky drama in the first and fourth photographs. And, as always, your prose adds almost as much to your blog as the photographs. I can only imagine how exhausted the firefighters must be, as well as all the animals and birds. Wind is exhausting. The Dust Bowl days must have been quite the time. Thanks for your efforts! And congratulations again on your multiple writings for Shadow and Light Magazine!