2000
THE BLACK ROCK DESERT
This collaboration with writer Bill Fox was commissioned as a book on Nevada's Black Rock Desert by the University of Arizona Press for a series of small books edited by Gregory McNamee. The Black Rock Desert in northwest Nevada is a dry lakebed that extends for 100 miles. It has been the home of indigenous people for thousands of years, was in the path of nineteenth century pioneer migration, and more recently has been the location of record breaking land speed racing and the annual Burning Man Festival.
The project was conceived of as a journey to the Black Rock, and the text and photographs reflect the mutual experience shared by writer and photographer on a weeklong trip on and around the dry lake's playa. The text illuminates the history of the Black Rock through the present. The photographs were intended to convey the contemporary experience of the Black Rock in reference to its past.
“S” curve made by a vehicle crossing desiccation tracks 9/00
Abandoned house at the edge of the playa 9/00
Soaking in Trego Hot Springs 9/00
”Stone Boy” at the shadow of sunset, west side of the playa 9/00
My tire track on the playa surface 9/00
Near sunset, camp number 4 on Black Rock playa 9/00
Truck approaching through mirage, two miles distant, view through binocular lens 9/00
Navigating by GPS, Black Rock 9/00
The pyramid in my side view mirror, leaving Pyramid Lake 9/00
Tree branch blown onto the playa 9/00
Shell casings found on the playa: 11 sizes Black Rock 9/00
Shadow of hill projected onto open desert near the Black Rock playa 9/00
Tire tracks sunk into the playa during wetter conditions 9/00
Lone figure on the Black Rock playa 9/00
Forty foot shadows at camp number 3 Black Rock 9/00
Lithic sherds from earlier travelers to the Black Rock Desert 9/00
First camp in Black Rock: negative destroyed by heat 9/00
Facing south, sunrise at Black Rock 9/00
Bottle neck ca 1930’s Black Rock 9/00
Surveying the Black Rock Desert from a volcanic knob 9/00
