No lie - this will probably be one of the first places I want to go and shoot when I finally buy a camera.
I've always loved the desert - even before I drove cross country and actually saw it. Since I was a kid, back in school, I've always wanted to live in an arid place (I know Los Angeles is on the coast - but we do at least have dry heat). Originally I thought I wanted to live somewhere like Arizona, New Mexico, or Nevada, but then once I decided film was for me - I knew California would be my home.
Anywho - this short documentary is awesome. I didn't even know areas like this existed. I was aware that there were ghost towns, especially out in the deserts of Nevada or New Mexico - but I never expected this stuff to be in California.
Visually, this piece is mesmerizing, because it is so bleak. The colors are drab and the environment is sun bleached and barren - it sucks you in with its emptiness. As for camera movement - there is only still shots (lacking movement) and tracking/steady cams. Its calming and soothing, but somehow haunting. No one is around, you only hear the wind howling - everything is dried out and dead.
What I find most interesting though is the story driving the documentary and the information presented. I was not aware of this 'sea' or how it once was a flourishing city in CA. It's weird to see something so spectacular turn into something so horrible so quickly.
I'm definitely interested in going there - after all, it is only 3 hours away.
Very haunting - and, it does leave the viewer with many unanswered questions to mull.
ReplyDeleteI know you are anxious for a camera - and I am anxious to see your work once you get your camera!
ieyu, ilys!