Richard says:
I took the photos during the last night of a two week stay in the Orocopia Mountains in southern California, United States, east of the Coachella Valley. It is a sacred place in the outskirts of the Sonoran Desert, 5 miles on a dirt road west of the Highway I10, across from the Joshua Tree National park.
I've camped here many times since friends showed me this place in 1985 and it is one of my favorite places on Earth. After a few days, I feel one with nature here and the wind talks to me, especially at night.
In this moonless night I hiked up towards the Salton Sea, using a tripod for long exposure (25 sec.) facing the West, where city lights of the Coachella Valley are quite strong. Towards the end I used a tiny keyring flashlight to paint light into the desert, highlighting brushes and cacti, which created these somewhat surreal, under-water like scenes.
These photos were taken a bit after 10 PM on April 16, 2015
