Film of the Palm Springs Desert
Two friends, one glorious day in the sun
This past winter, I was in a bad car accident with my friend Joe, and we are frankly very lucky to be alive. The hospital staff put a patient sticker on my phone, and for a couple of weeks I kept it there to remind myself of that luck. Still, though, when one month later the film scans came back, I was also reminded of what a great day we had and the fact that we got to see this part of California together.
But first, the story backs up eight years to 2018 in Essaouira, Morocco. Joe, his friend Dom, and I all met in a hostel fabulously called Green Milk in an evening jam session. Our newly formed trio then went to Marrakesh together, and all three of us just so happened to have a flight to England on the same day. The universe sometimes spins in very cool circles. I took a train from London to Bristol to hang out with them and other people that I had met during my travels (who also coincidentally lived in Bristol).
Up to 2023: The gang reunites again in Bristol.
And finally, with the magic of social media, in 2025 we found that we moved cross-country and trans-continental to California! I had gotten to the Central Coast, and Joe was on a visa to work at the Lazy Bear, a Michelin starred restaurant in San San Francisco (incredible!). Two transplants with just the right amount of overlap to take off our third continent together.
Flight prices home were absolutely atrocious during the holidays, like robbery in broad daylight. We both wanted meet and to see more of California. Initially we were planning on camping in Point Reyes, but then a relative monsoon overtook most of California. And so we decided instead to go to the Palm Desert, which was relatively rainproof.
On the drive down from San Luis Obispo we went through a town called Maricopa and just had to get out and take pictures. This was right as the sun was setting. The main street here had the town hall, one diner, and this awesome gas station below. This is classic Americana and total delight for an international visitor.
Our Airbnb was just off of a huge set of windmills, which is also a tourist attraction in the area. We had also debated going camping but actually love running water.
We set out to the Indian Canyons first thing in the morning and walked through Murray and Andreas Canyons. These have really lovely and relatively easy trails. Parts of the trails pass through the canyon floors, which are covered with palm trees. Early in the morning, they diffuse the light, making for wonderful photos. Higher parts of the canyons are exposed with a views down into the valley. At the top of Murray Canyon, two people saw my Canon AE-1 and stopped us to chat about their own film!
This is also the first time that I splurged on Portra 400 and I gotta say, it is SO worth it for shooting people. Here is one of my favorites below. Portra is classic for a reason.
We then went to the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway at dusk. It was gorgeous to see the sky start to go to sleep above the desert. Claim to fame: this is the largest rotating aerial tramway in the world. On top of that, the every banger Christmas carol (Feliz Navidad, All I Want for Christmas is You, etc) was on blast the entire way up.
By the time we reached to the top, it had become dark outside. I’ve been working on shooting in low light and love how this frame came out.
The rest is, well, a car accident and a hospital blur. We are fortunately both ok, thanks in large part to very kind friends and family. Also, we are on different continents now with visa expiration. But, there is something that I really, really love about this – the door is always open (sometimes by a small crack) to seeing people again. That’s part of the wonder, fun, and sometimes sadness of taking different paths - we don’t know when it’ll be. Even now, I’m unsure when I’ll see some people from Houston or Philadelphia again. That’s what makes it feel like a smile from the universe when it does happen. With luck and a little bit of planning, for Joe and me our friendship has somehow landed in three continents over eight years.
And where’s the fourth? I don’t know yet, but I’m pretty sure it’s out there.
