Last weekend I took a night photography workshop in Joshua Tree, California with Amy Shutt and Frank Aymami (more on that in another upcoming blog). After the workshop, four of us drove down to the Salton Sea, California's largest inland body of water. We primarily visited to shoot the sunset but also to explore what is left of the communities surrounding the Salton Sea. I was hoping to try out my new infrared camera on the abandoned buildings.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Salton Sea, here’s a quick background. The basin, or Salton Sink, where the Salton Sea currently lies was home to at least five different successive lakes over several centuries. The Salton Sea was formed between 1905 and 1907 as a result of an engineering disaster. Namely, the California Development Company attempted to divert water from the Colorado River to farms in the area by creating a system of irrigation canals. In 1905, the Colorado River breached the canals and flowed into the Salton Sink for 2 years, creating the Salton Sea.
Back in the 1950s and 1960s, Hollywood's rich and famous flocked to the area and many taunted the Salton Sea as the "California Riveria." It was thought to rival Palm Springs and Palm Desert just to the North. Tourist visitors frequently surpassed visitors to Yosemite National Park during this time. However, the heyday of the Salton Sea was short-lived as the Sea became an environmental disaster due, in part, to agricultural run-off.
The first stop for us was Salton Sea Beach. Describing this community is quite difficult as I have never experienced anything like it. Before I visited, I was told that it “looks like an atomic bomb went off”; “people just appeared to have fled, leaving all of their possessions behind”; “salt encrusts everything”; and that is "HOT." Now having visited briefly, I would say all of that rings true. It was 114 degrees Fahrenheit when we arrived in the late afternoon and it truly looked like a bomb had gone off and then several floods had occurred. Graffiti adorned almost everything that remained. Furniture, appliances, old televisions, and other personal possessions sat outside to bake in the scorching sun.
Abandoned child's shoe at Salton Sea Beach
I was a bit taken by this child's mateless shoe at Salton Sea Beach
Upon our arrival, I asked Frank, “now what do we do?” He instructed me to drive to whatever we wanted to photograph, as apparently it’s not exactly safe. A pinkish-red graffiti-ed building caught my eye off to my right so I pointed the car in that direction. Upon parking, another workshop member announced that, “people are murdered here all the time.” "Um . . . for real?!?!?," I thought to myself. With the thought of our untimely yet seemingly imminent deaths in the back of our minds (or, at least my mind!), we proceeded to get to the business of taking pictures. Meanwhile, a shirtless man who lived next door at the one occupied residence in the area stood in the middle of the street yelling something incomprehensible. At the same time, a rooster crowed in the background (yes, I am dead serious, I can't make this stuff up).
The red graffiti-ed building that caught my attention. Salton Sea Beach, California
An infrared of the graffiti-ed building which first caught my attention. Salton Sea Beach, CA.
Trailer door in Salton Sea Beach, CA..
I quickly realized that most of the buildings, including the pinkish-red one that had captured my attention were once trailers or mobile homes with attached carports. Other than the shirtless yelling man, the only other occupants of this area were a number of pigeons. The pigeons have made an abandoned motel their home and were not so happy with my invading their hotel room privacy.
An old motel room now home to many pigeons. Salton Sea Beach, CA.
Motel room, the pigeons now call home. Salton Sea Beach, CA.
One of my favorite pictures from our Salton Sea adventure. To me this summarizes the post-apocalytic look of the area.
Graffiti at Salton Sea Beach. If you look closely there is a small piece of fabric pinned to the wall just above the eyebrows. I'm not sure what this means or why it is there but I saw fabric pinned to a another wall as well.
Soon it was time to leave the pigeons and Salton Sea Beach behind and drive to the other side of the Salton Sea for sunset. Along the way, we stopped to take some photos of an old service station, which was just past the International Banana Museum. Unfortunately, I drove right by the Banana Museum without realizing it was there so I do not have pictures but here's a link if you want to check it out - http://www.internationalbananamuseum.com.
An infrared of an abandoned service station, Salton Sea, California.
An infrared of the side of the abandoned service station.
Infrared of a road leading to the Salton Sea
We took sunset pictures behind what is now the Salton Sea History Museum & Visitor Center in Mecca, CA. This building previously was the North Shore Beach & Yacht Club, which originally opened in 1959. Here is a link to the Salton Sea Museum - http://saltonseamuseum.org - which includes more information regarding the history of the area. Quite honestly, the sunset was a bit boring compared to where we had just been. But here are a couple of shots.
Long exposure panorama of a hazy Salton Sea sunset
Sunset at the Salton Sea behind the Salton Sea History Museum.
After sunset, I happily made my way back to Palm Springs. Less than 60 miles away, the lushness, beauty, and wealth of Palm Springs strikes a stark contrast to the Salton Sea and makes you think of what the Salton Sea could have been.
happy sunsets, love, and wanderlust!
christina