I talk a lot about roadside attractions near Joshua Tree National Park. With this year’s crop of images from my time there, I feel like I had as many roadside attractions as anything else. This, of course, was in part because I’d broken my ankle about 2 months prior, and I still wasn’t up to doing hikes through the desert. That said, these were all things that I had been on my shot list for a while, and my lack of ability this year just made it easier to chose them over other ideas I have. Anyway, this week’s Picture of the Week embodies the topic. I saw these doors a number of years ago and literally had to pull over so I could turn around and make sure I saw what I thought I saw – a bunch of random doors standing out in the middle of the desert. And yep, that’s exactly what it was.
Looking at satellite images it doesn’t appear that the doors are associated with any nearby properties, and the internet was no real help either, except to acknowledge that yes they’re there and no one really knows why. Just like the Chinese Lions I mentioned a few weeks ago, no one seems to claim them.
One morning at breakfast, the waitress was being particularly chatty, so I decided to ask her if she knew anything about them. She then proceeded to call across the restaurant to an older gentleman, who I gathered is a local, and a regular at this restaurant, to ask if he knew about them. Neither of them had ever noticed the doors, but noted that there are art installations all over the desert. I asked if they thought anyone would mind if I went out there and took pictures, and they both replied pretty quickly that, no, as long as I wasn’t messing with anything, no one would care. They’re generally put there for people to enjoy (some of the bigger installations even ask for a donation).
Placing my hope in the knowledge of locals, I set out to set these doors up as a night scene. I had my buddy Mark help me illuminate the doors, which took a bit of time because I only had a couple lights. I then had him illuminate himself behind the door with glass in it, sort of Alfred Hitchcock style. Not wanting to push my luck too far, I noted the orientation of the sky and we drove up the road a ways to land I know is federal land and setup shop to shoot the sky portion of the image.
I’m really pleased with the way this one turned out, but I have to admit that after staring at it I came up with a couple more compositions I’d like to try, so you may see these doors again one day!
More next week!
–Dan Thompson