Drift

Drift_Death Valley – Images by David Zentz

Last year, following two weeks spent in Death Valley shooting a story for National Parks Magazine, I made several return trips to keep shooting. On the first trip back, I finally made it up to the Eureka Dunes, which had been closed off because of poor road conditions on my previous excursions. I wrote about the experiences I had on those trip in previous posts, here and here, but never shared the final images! So here they are, in a series I’m calling “Drift.” My idea for these images was to photograph the dunes in a way I hadn’t seen before. Rather than trying to make them look epic and unforgiving, I decided to decontextualize them by cutting out the sky and the surrounding mountain ranges, only focusing on the elegant lines and shadows formed by the overlapping slopes and the changing position of the sun. Through lens choice and the decision to eliminate environmental elements, I also made it hard to tell whether you’re looking at something massive or small, though many of the scenes here depict areas that are several hundred feet apart and quite tall. The idea for the title of the series came from the realization that I would probably never be able to repeat any one of these images. Despite appearing static, the dunes are constantly being reshaped by the winds that formed them in the first place. Those winds, combined with the unique composition of the sand there, are also responsible for making them some of the only “singing dunes” in the world. Despite a few visits I still haven’t heard it, but when the winds are right, the sand is said to create a hum not unlike a distant prop plane. Another idea I have is to go back to record the sound, which could then be played in the background in a gallery exhibition. Speaking of which, I’m working on making master prints of the series, which I hope to display soon. So far the images range from 17″ x 11″ and up to 60″ x 40.” Although I’ve displayed images in galleries and numerous art events, I have never worked toward a solo exhibition, so this is an exciting challenge!