Once more into the breach dear friends, once more...

"It was to be eight years before I returned to the shores of the Salton Sea in the August of 2012. I found that most of which I had photographed had decayed further or had disappeared altogether, but the heat and smell of sulphur remained as did the solitude I had always associated with it. The ‘Sea’ itself had receded some 30 meters leaving more salt encrusted decay and less visual appeal, so much so I selfishly longed for another flood to replenish the land and provide more shooting material."

Returning to the Salton was a bit like going back to somewhere you had a nice holiday although I would never recommend a place like this for a week off (having said that it was once was the place to go, although I cannot imagine spending any leisure time there).

I thought it would be a good idea to revisit the old haunt just out of curiosity and perhaps write something to tie in with the upcoming show in October. My feelings about the sea had become somewhat jaded and perhaps a little romantic over the years and I thought it would just be like the old days when I would arrive in my Jeep around 4.00pm and shoot until my heart was content. I had always remembered the heat and the stink of the place, but nothing had prepared me for my return. It was an overcast day, something I had never encountered there before and the car thermometer was already at 117 degrees (47.2c) making the humidity almost unbearable. After only five minutes I looked like David Attenburough in a rain forest full of frogs and was so wet my pants began to chaff my quality thighs. Indoors was even hotter and focusing my camera became almost impossible as sweat filled my baby blue eyes. It was utterly vile and I wondered how I managed to do this every week for a whole year. But I kept on regardless fascinated by how much the place had changed. Mother nature had consumed most of which I had photographed before which I found most odd being that it had not really been that long. But this was no normal place and the high salt content in the air and on the ground only speeded up the decay process. There wasn't much left to photograph, and I realized had I started the project now it would be totally different.

On the journey back to my hotel it felt good to have revisited the old stink hole (as uncomfortable as it had been), if only to see how much the place had changed. If anything, it has made the images I have more precious knowing that I couldn't go back and re-shoot the project. The images have become frozen in time...