Desert Sea Dreams

This is a series detailing recreation amidst the surreal landscape of Southern California's ecological disaster. It is an understatement to say that the Salton Sea is dirty, the smell of death and decay lingers in the air and the water is hardly suitable for any type of use that could be deemed sanitary. The sea’s problems have been attributed to factors such as agricultural run-off, botulism, the decimation of fish and avian populations and increasing salinity to name just a few. Despite these problems, there exists pockets of beauty and remnants of this desert sea's former glory that are undeniable and to date, they can still be enjoyed by those who know what to look for.

Muay Thai Culture

Muay Thai, also known as the Art of the Eight Limbs, employs eight points of contact when striking: fist, elbows, knees and shins. These fighters are trained from as young as they can walk until the toll of their training breaks their body down to the point where they cannot continue - typically in their early twenties. They calcify the bones used for striking and build muscles as sheathes of armour. To many, this is their only path to a better life - no different than many disadvantaged American youths turning to Football or Basketball. The Thai youths merely pay a higher price.

Children of the Eight Limbs

Camps around Thailand regularly take in children who are orphaned or who's parents can no longer afford to raise them. They are trained from as young as they can walk and are fed, clothed and provided an education by those who take them in. In return, the camp typically take half of their earnings. Not all motivations are monetary in nature...in these examples, the welfare of the child comes first and they are taken in because they have nowhere else to go. This is their only path to a future in which they can find survival.

Life in Chania

This is a series of portraits detailing life in Chania, Greece.

Abandoned

The Salton Sea was once a destination to the stars in its heyday, but now lies abandoned and neglected. Yet in its neglection lies the beauty found in the quiet of its death and decay. Many see this area as an eyesore, unable to see past the deterioration of its ruins, but it is exactly the deterioration along with nature's efforts to reclaim her land that makes this place so heart-breaking in its beauty.

The Dancing Trees

As the water level of the Salton Sea rises, trees that once thrived along the shore drowned and lies dead beneath a thin layer of salt water. The branches are still yet reach out as if caught in movement. The trees are dead yet stand poised as if they are still alive - seemingly caught in the act of dance.

Remnants

Fluctuating water levels of the Salton Sea has left behind a unique landscape of the traces of our presence. These remnants of man are like ghosts - ethereal and beautiful yet ultimately disconcerting.

The Illegal Dump Site

On the southeast side of the Salton Sea lies one of many illegal dump sites - this particular one is a small stretch of road that was once an area for clandestine dumping. However, once we take a moment to look past that obvious pollution, death and decay of the sea, we can see the beauty that nature and time can lend to any environment.