Tag: US desert photography

cholla and morning sun

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teddy bear cholla along southern boundary of joshua tree national park
cholla and morning sun – joshua tree national park wilderness | 4.13.26

When you think of Joshua Tree National Park you naturally think of joshua trees and rock formations and rock climbing. That’s what the park is known for.

Joshua Tree sits on the transition zone of two deserts. The north side, the more well known side with the rocks and joshua trees is in the Mojave Desert. The south side is in the Colorado Desert, a sub-desert of the Sonoran. It’s an area of chollas and ocotillos and canyons and rocky mountain slopes. There are no joshua trees in the southern half.

The south side of Joshua Tree National Park, though not unknown, isn’t as well traveled as the north side. Other than the highway through the park there are few roads there. It’s largely wilderness and hiking trails. I live along the southern boundary of the park. I can step out my door and walk right in. It’s where I wander and take pictures most every day.

sunrise, sunset

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You know, when you scroll through desert images in Google, or any other browser for that matter, you’ll see an endless stream of super-saturated sunrises and sunsets. Thousands of them, all pretty much the same. The same is true for many photographers websites. Sure, sunsets like that happen. Not as saturated and spectacular as most of those photos suggest, but they happen. But not all that often. Much of what passes for desert photography is misleading.

I’ve managed this small campground on the southern boundary of Joshua Tree National Park for ten years now, and I’ve heard it hundreds of times. People come in to camp for a day or two and say they can’t wait to see one of those magnificent sunsets. I tell them it’s not likely though it should be a beautiful evening anyway, but expectations are high. Sometimes they leave disappointed. Now and then someone even feels cheated as if they’re owed a mind-blowing show. I sometimes think if they had to pay to camp here some would demand their money back.

The desert is an incredible place, but the reality of it is far different from the preconceived notions and expectations many come here with, and I think much of the desert photography that floods the internet has a lot to do with those misconceptions.