Desert Ecology & Photography Workshops

Workshop 2. Desert Perception: Shifting Scale & Time Narratives

Objectives

• Introduce the concept of perceptual scaling—the idea that our perception can challenge fixed notions of time, space, and body (drawing on ideas from my dissertation).
• Understand how careful observation and perceptual scaling—which challenges the assumption of the desert as a lifeless space—can inform photography.
  
• Reflect on how these new insights on ecology and perception shape creative storytelling.

Morning Session (9:00 AM – 12:00 PM)

• Introduce workshop goals.
• Personal narrative: How my dissertation concepts taught me to see the hidden layers of space and time.

• Lecture on Wonder Valley’s dune dynamics, creosote ecosystems, hidden fauna, and the legacy of ancient lake beds.
• Discussion on transforming “empty landscape” into a multidimensional life-supporting landscape.

• Introduce photographic methodologies from my dissertation.
  
• Show examples of work incorporating my methodologies that lead to rich narratives.
• Discuss the poetic and philosophical implications of these methodologies.
  
• Develop an idea and technique to explore during field practice that are based on presented concepts.

Lunch Break (12:00 PM – 1:00 PM)

Afternoon Session (1:30 PM – 5:30 PM)

• Drive/walk a predetermined route along the dunes.
• Participants work individually, with guidance. The focus is linking observations to broader ideas about time and perception.
• Exercises include experimenting with bracketing, layering, time lapse, time slice, and related techniques for layering time.

• Work on editing and compositing of a rough sketch of idea developed in morning session.
  

• Engage in group conversation about how these techniques can express deeper themes.
• Print a selected image for each participant.

Location & Logistics:

• Wonder Valley, CA, 15 miles east of Twentynine Palms, CA 92277, and 30 miles east of Joshua Tree, CA.
  
• Main roads are paved. Class and field location are unpaved but passable.
  
• Cell service is excellent throughout the area we are in.
  
• Instruction is in a house that will serve as classroom and facilities (wifi, kitchen, and bathroom). 
• For greater comfort, plenty local motels in 29Palms, or short term rentals nearby in Wonder Valley are available. Otherwise participants can camp on premises with access to the house for facilities. November nights can be chilly. So camping is advised only if you are equipped for it.
  
• Required equipment: DSLR camera (film is ok but no printing will obviously be possible), tripod, laptop to download and transfer images. A range of lenses and UV filters if you have them, but not necessary.