Midland Rocks to capture a composition that changes in color and hue so quickly as the morning light spreads across the sky ,” Jim remembers . “ So many times I had the experience of only having seconds to capture the light . I had to be very prepared , very observant , and a little bit lucky .”
One of Jim ’ s fondest memories of shooting in the Mojave occurred one day on his way home . He had just left the Kelso Depot and was driving south on Kelbaker Road toward Interstate 40 . “ I looked to my left and the last of the sun had painted Providence Mountains a fiery red . Just above the mountain ridge , hung a full moon .” Jim had no time to set up tripod , but he did have his long lens and got off about 10 shots before the gorgeous light was gone . “ I got really lucky .” Or , perhaps , to paraphrase Dr . Pasteur , “ fortune favors the prepared photographer .”
The vastness of the Preserve was brought home to Jim when he drove 500 miles in one day to accomplish his shooting goals . Because there is no fuel available anywhere in the Preserve , and because he hadn ’ t yet
captured the images he was after , he had to leave the preserve to refuel his car and then came back into the Preserve to complete his shoot . He proudly relays that , in all of the time he spent traveling all manner of Mojave terrain in his all wheel drive vehicle , he never got stuck . He admitted there were a few close encounters but he did avoid what has been the bane of many other Artists , getting stuck in Mojave ’ s sand . If you ’ ve ever gone off the paved roads in the Mojave , you know that is indeed an achievement .
“ But then , it started snowing and got cold , an unfriendly cold .”
Again emphasizing his advice to be prepared for change , Jim relayed another of his favorite experiences . One evening , Jim had planned to sleep in his car just off Cima Road ( which is at a higher elevation than the Dunes or the Depot ) in order to be in place for an image he wanted to create . But then , it started snowing and got cold , “ An unfriendly cold ,” Jim
Centennial Edition | THE DESERT LIGHT 7
Midland Rocks
to capture a composition that changes in color and
hue so quickly as the morning light spreads across
the sky,” Jim remembers. “So many times I had
the experience of only having seconds to capture the
light. I had to be very prepared, very observant, and
a little bit lucky.”
One of Jim’s fondest memories of shooting in the
Mojave occurred one day on his way home. He
had just left the Kelso Depot and was driving
south on Kelbaker Road toward Interstate 40. “I
looked to my left and the last of the sun had painted
Providence Mountains a fiery red. Just above the
mountain ridge, hung a full moon.” Jim had no
time to set up tripod, but he did have his long lens
and got off about 10 shots before the gorgeous light
was gone. “I got really lucky.” Or, perhaps, to
paraphrase Dr. Pasteur, “fortune favors the prepared
photographer.”
The vastness of the Preserve was brought home to Jim
when he drove 500 miles in one day to accomplish
his shooting goals. Because there is no fuel available
anywhere in the Preserve, and because he hadn’t yet
captured the images he was after, he had to leave
the preserve to refuel his car and then came back
into the Preserve to complete his shoot. He proudly
relays that, in all of the time he spent traveling all
manner of Mojave terrain in his all wheel drive
vehicle, he never got stuck. He admitted there were
a few close encounters but he did avoid what has
been the bane of many other Artists, getting stuck
in Mojave’s sand. If you’ve ever gone off the paved
roads in the Mojave, you know that is indeed an
achievement.
Again emphasizing
his advice to
be prepared for
change,
Jim
relayed
another
of his favorite
experiences. One
evening, Jim had planned to sleep in his car just
off Cima Road (which is at a higher elevation than
the Dunes or the Depot) in order to be in place for
an image he wanted to create. But then, it started
snowing and got cold, “An unfriendly cold,” Jim
“But then, it
started snowing
and got cold, an
unfriendly cold.”
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