Tom Lowe - Mojave Moonlight: A Series of Nightscapes

First edition self published in the United States in 2014 by

Tom Lowe

Tom Lowe Photo

Studio City, CA 91602

www.tomlowephoto.com

All rights reserved

Copyright 2014

Special thank to:

Bob Killen

Bob Killen Photography

bobkillen.com

Mojave National Preserve

Artist in Residence Program

nps.gov/moja

760 252-6122

ISBN: 9781483521602

Ive been lucky to visit six continents and work in over fifteen countries during the last twenty-five years in the film industry. From the heat and humidity of India, to the barren landscapes of central China, to the serene calm of an Italian summer and the lapping waves of the Caribbean, Ive endeavored to take the road less traveled, eat at the cafes frequented only by locals and walk their streets without a map. I continue to believe that getting lost in a city is the best way to discover it. A regular tourist I am not, if nothing else, my adventures have shown me a world outside the pages of the popular travel guides.

I grew up in the wide-open spaces of the American west where during family camping trips, I fell in love with the night sky. As the rest of the family retired to the security and warmth of the trailer my father towed behind our car, Id take my sleeping bag and lie down next to the glowing embers of a campfire. Under the stars, the cool night air would whisper through the pines, and Id count the satellites as they streaked across the sky. To me, I was connecting with nature, living like the cowboys I watched on TV, shredding my urban confines and enjoying the moment - mosquito bites, and all.

Now in my 50s, I live in the large metropolitan city of Los Angeles where I often find myself seeking links to the boy sleeping next to the campfire with my sense of wonder and my relationship to nature, often hard to find. As a marathoner, I get momentary glimpses in the stillness that pervades the streets in my neighborhood during early morning runs, sometimes my only place of solace in a hectic world. These moments Ive come to believe are for me at least until a large delivery truck barrels down the road interrupting my reverie and stagnating the air with diesel fumes.

When the opportunity to work as an artist in residence for Mojave National Preserve presented itself, I jumped at the chance. I knew immediately what I wanted to do. With my affinity for the night and the outdoors it had to be Mojave Moonlight.

The desert can be a lonely yet tranquil place. Some of these captures are from well off the beaten path. Over the course of fifteen nights I would often drive off the pavement, down a dirt road some not so passable and park the car just before sunset. Then walk up to three miles into the desert, usually with a mission; cactus or rock formations or dunes or sometimes seeking inspiration in the stillness. I rediscovered the light show in the blanket of the Milky Way - shooting stars and countless satellites accenting all the familiar constellations. As my sole light source, the moon trekked across the vastness of the night sky while a soundtrack of fluttering bats and howling coyotes played masterfully in the diverse landscape. Some mornings as the cold dipped below freezing I felt the Mojave wrap me in its arms and my urban life fade into the background. The crisp air filling my lungs with fresh oxygen, Los Angeles traffic and stress literally and figuratively miles away.

On several occasions, in the pre-dawn hours, Id get lost making my way back to the car. My equipment somehow heavier than it was ten hours earlier. Id pause under the stars, listen to the wind, slow my breath, calm my nerves, and ask, was it a right turn at the sagebrush or was it the Joshua tree? Then continue stumbling around in the dark until Id find my car. Always right where Id left it not far from the trailer where that kid used to lie looking at the night sky.

tom lowe, 2014

The two days, a month the Earth sees a full moon there is a window of time when just after sunset the light that remains matches the reflected moonlight. During this time when using the proper exposure, the landscape and the moons face have equal luminance. Many photographers aptly call this time of day blue light. It lasts around 8-10 minutes and once its gone, night descends, and photography becomes a whole other science.

As part of this project, I wanted to explore this window of time as I find it fascinating. The light produced can be very moody and almost macabre evoking all kinds of deep emotions.

This was the second night of overcast skies, and I left my trailer thinking the night would be a bust, as cloud cover tends to make for difficult shooting conditions at night. I hiked approximately three miles out onto the south shore of Soda Lake, to wait for the sunset. It did not disappoint. As it deepened the most amazing iridescent blue light exploded across the landscape.

Lake Sage, Soda Lake

Moonrise, Soda Lake

Joshua Sunset, Kessler Peak

For a little over a decade, my wife and I loaded the kids in the family car and drove north to Salt Lake City, UT and Missoula, MT for annual holiday vacations with our extended families. Wed often leave Los Angeles before dawn to avoid the morning rush hour. As we approached Zzyzx Road outside of Baker, CA the sun rose forcing us to don our sunglasses and lower the visor so we could concentrate on the interstate traffic instead of enjoying the sunrise over Soda Lake and the Mojave National Preserve. While we always wondered where Zzyzx lead to we never took the exit because the kids were usually asleep, and we had nine-hours of driving ahead.

I now know Zzyzx Road goes south off the interstate for approximately five-miles to Cal State Fullertons Desert Studies facility, and it is where I was housed for the duration of my night photography excursions. It is no Club Med, but they made me very comfortable and the guys who run the place were somewhat quiet in the daylight hours while I tried to sleep.

It is a trek to the Preserve from the end of Zzyzx, a minimum of 35 miles one-way. Having never been to the Cinder Cones before, I thought my first night in the Lava Beds would be more about research than capturing a useful frame for this project. The whole area is covered with pebble-sized pumice that from a distance looks like a black blanket draped over the desert floor.

Stepping into this strange landscape, my boots broke the surface and sank into the soft gray ash with a crunch, leaving a trail behind me that looked like Id walked through a batch of wet cement.

The moon was brilliant this night, and as the Big Dipper rose from behind the Cinder Cone, the half circles of sage reminded me of ice cream in a bed of chocolate. The town of Baker glows on the horizon while somewhere in the darkness the steady stream of traffic on the interstate carries passengers to destinations far from the open spaces in the lava beds.