Dragons, Stars, Dinosaurs and Gods: Borrego Springs, California, Summer 2012
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Left: The 350-foot long rattledragon, created in July 2011. I "light painted" this dragon with an Energizer head lamp set to a red light. The total exposure is six minutes, and the streaks in the sky are star trails, showing the movement of the earth during that time. |
Title: Jurassic Kiss |
Info: Nikon D90, Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8, sunblock. Sculpture by Ricardo Breceda. Photography: Ken Lee Location: Borrego Springs, California, USA |
Title: Aztec God of Borrego Springs |
Photography is often a solitary activity. But Mike and I were sitting in chair while having our two cameras on tripods doing long exposures, so often the experience was much closer to two buddies going fishing. We sat for probably about two and a half hours in front of Aztec Man (I actually have no idea if he is supposed to be Aztec, Native American, or somebody else), talking, watching the night sky, and clicking our shutter periodically as desert light shifted hues. Title: Aztec Sunset |
This dragon sculpture is 350 feet long and is bisected by a road, quite a fascinating site to see as you approach it by car. Fantastic evening, lots of fun, and great to hang out with Mike. Title: White Rattledragon |
Ken's photos of Nobel Peace Prize Winner Aung
San Suu Kyi, as well as photos of Peru, Burma, India, Morocco, China, Thailand,
Ghana, Ecuador, and elsewhere, have appeared in many books, magazines,
websites, and galleries. Visit the
Ken Lee Photography Website. Some of Ken's select photos may be
purchased through his
Imagekind Store. |
Dragons, Stars, Dinosaurs and Gods: Borrego Springs, California Summer 2012
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Eleven Shadows Travel Page
Contact photographer/musician Ken Lee
5 July 2012: I went with my friend, 
These strange creatures, metallic wonders created by artist Ricardo Breceda (from Perris, California), filled the desert expanses surrounding the tiny town of Borrego Springs. We were going to photograph them in their wondrous, primal glory.
Dennis Avery, of Avery Labels fame, spent part of his millions on three square miles of non-contiguous land around the Borrego Springs area, calling it Galleta Meadows. After some deliberation of what to do with all this land, he thought he'd recreate the some of the history of this land, going back as far as three million years ago.
To help reach his vision, Dennis Avery tapped artist Ricardo Breceda, who molds his steel-welded sculptures, and allows them to rust in the open air. And they seem to rust fairly quickly, although the Aztec or Native American Man, shown here, had a gold finish that appeared to be holding up well. And after all, the rust is just part of the patina.
After the sun sets is a time in which many start packing away their cameras. For Mike Shelton and I, however, it's some of my favorite light. 
But especially for the dragon, in both the first photo as well this one, Mike and I were far more active, taking multiple exposures while "light painting". "Light painting" for us involved "painting" the dragon with first a red Energizer head lamp (see the first photo), and with this one, Mike "light painted" using a more traditional albeit rather bright white light from a flashlight. The different lights highlight different textures and produce different aesthetic and emotional feelings in each photograph.
