East Jesus II

Cosmic Lac, East Jesus, Niland, California, Jan. 2020

I previously shared photos from my trip to East Jesus earlier this year. We arrived midday on a bright sunny day, so the shooting conditions weren’t the most ideal. I went with a black and white edit so that the focus could be more about the details. I recently revisited the photos wanting to find a way to take advantage of the imperfections. I felt like showing East Jesus in color could add more to the story.

Although the sky isn’t perfect, there are noticeable highlights and hard shadows; the images aren’t a complete waste. I enjoy the compositions, and I think I found some pretty exciting things. As an artist, veteran, and Capricorn, I’m obsessive and a perfectionist, especially with my work. I don’t know if it’s something that will ever go away, but in an attempt to get over myself, I’m learning to embrace the imperfections too.

I’ve noticed the grainy/old photo trend has picked up over the past year in digital photography, so I thought it would be a good fit for these photos. I’m so used to playing it safe and sticking to realism, but I feel like with this trend, I can get away with imperfections.

That’s what art is about sometimes anyway.