Feature Image: Richard with Video Slider © 2024 Fred Ullrich
On November 15th through the 17th AZPA sponsored a camping trip into the remote areas of the Sonoran Desert, north of Ajo, AZ.
On Thursday, Richard Laugharn the organizer and guide, with Rennan Kooistra went ahead to scope out the remote stretch, as well as gather provisions in Ajo. Later that day, the pair got the opportunity to visit the studio of Tom Kiefer, to catch up on his ongoing project that records items recovered from migrants after attempting border crossings.
On Friday, Richard and Rennan met up with Brad Armstrong, Fred Ullrich and Chris Palmer in Gila Bend before heading south into the Barry Goldwater Gunnery Range, reaching their first camp in the Sauceda Mountains. The group travelled overland through tight, steep and rocky drainages. Some of the participants reported that the drive alone was an adventure!
On Saturday morning, the group explored an obsidian site used by past cultures to procure the glass-like rock made for toolmaking. Richard demonstrated some new technology including a slider for video, and a small drone that allowed him to expand his intersections between still and video imagery.
Saturday’s evenings camp was at the foot of the Batamote Mountains, a dark basaltic uplift fronted by a Palo-Verde Saguaro Forest. The group was well equipped with a variety of view cameras in multiple sizes from 4×5 to 11×14, as well as digital tools. At the end of the day, they used the late afternoon light to explore the surrounding areas. After a long day, the dinner menu was a potluck of Pollo Asado, homemade chili, and pecan pie for dessert. That night was both the Leonid meteor showers and the full moon. Unfortunately, a brilliant moon makes viewing the meteors a challenge. In the three days of their camping trip the temperatures ranged from the mid 70’s to the low 30’s: typical of a winter in the desert.
Camp with Moonrise © 2024 Fred Ullrich
As a guide, Richard uses his years of desert experience to impart both his knowledge and passion for the desert. Many of the participants mentioned the importance of taking pause so that you will pay attention to the details and the delicate changes in light and atmosphere. Seen from a distance, the desert seems to be uniformly brown and forbidding. But closeup and with time it can reveal its intricacies and the special adaptations that are required for species to survive. A good example of that is Fred’s image of a saguaro including its nurse plant that provided shade in its early stages of growth.
All the campers commented on how nice it was to have a small intimate group that could develop a personal connection with each other over the three days.
Bob Galloway
Contributing Writer
Bob Galloway is an emeritus professor from Mesa Community College where he taught photography for 39 years.
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