Places Strange and Quiet. Salton Sea, Cal. 2023

Greetings, folks. It’s been quite an intermission.

A solid four years since I last wrote about my work. Yep, four years. Since the chaos of Covid, fires, floods and global conflict, I’ve opted for a more subdued presence. The relentless onslaught of global turmoil didn’t exactly inspire confidence in the relevance of my craft, if you catch my drift.

But, a shift has occurred. Late last year, I found myself at the Palm Springs Photo Festival in California, immersing myself in a four-day exploration alongside none other than the great Nadav Kander – a figure who’s fuelled my creative journey for a quarter of a century. In my opinion, to this day his work is unparalleled.

Within an intimate cohort of just thirteen photographers, we delved into the intricacies of our creative methodologies, dissecting the sources of our inspiration and the profound impact of life’s trials on our artistic expression. It was truly enlightening.

So here I stand, rejuvenated and brimming with fresh perspective. Keep your eyes peeled for forthcoming endeavours in the weeks to come. And while you’re here, do peruse some of the imagery I captured during my time alongside Nadav, and the days that followed.

Below is a little insight into our class assignment. We had ourselves a vote, picking out four words from a pool of thirty to serve as themes for our photography. With just 24 hours to capture our interpretations, we then gathered to present our work.

The chosen themes? “Places Strange and Quiet,” (above) “Imperfect,” “Dirt,” and “Behind.”

Here’s what I came up with…

Imperfect Triptych (Insomnia). Palm Springs, 2023
Dirt Triptych (Shot at the Salton Sea, California)
Behind (Talia Kander Dances) Salton Sea, 2023

In the days that followed the workshop, I tripped around the desert and then back to LA before flying home…

Hoops, Venice Beach 2023
Caesar Leaves LAX 2023

John, Venice Beach 2023
Mitch, Joshua Tree 2023

Twentynine Palms, California 2023

Stay tuned, dear friends. Exciting times lie ahead.