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In January 2026, my family decided to do a road trip through the American South West. It was a fast trip without much time to wait or plan for shots. We drove, I saw, we stopped and I took the photo. It was some of the most amazing scenery I have ever witnessed and filled my souls search for wide open landscapes.
Death Valley. Kodak Portra 160
Death Valley is without doubt the most amazing place I have ever seen. My photography style of isolation is very easily achieved. But not with this shot. There were plenty of people on the salt pan and I thought I would never get what I wanted. Then a couple walked past me, a child on one parent’s back, and I thought "This shot could work!". And it does. I think it’s the only photograph in my prints collection with people in it,
and, unusually, it adds to the loneliness, the silence. My favourite shot of the trip.
Death Valley. Kodak Portra 160
We arrived in the late afternoon and I thought I had missed my opportunity that day until we came around a bend and I saw this almost mars or some other planet-like landscape.
Worth the stop and me clambering to set up my camera quickly before the light totally disappeared.
Death Valley. Kodak Portra 160
Apparently there had been rain before we arrived , so the normally dry and cracked flats had turned into this glass-like reflection which I hadn't expected. I am glad it had changed
and I am very happy with how the photograph turned out.
Death Valley. Kodak Portra 160
I liked the texture in the foreground of this shot. Although half the flat was covered in water I
was happy to still be a able to get a textured foreground against the smooth blue sky.
I need to go back. I could spend a month there.
Death Valley. Kodak Portra 160
On the morning of our departure, while checking out of the lodge, I noticed these dead trees piled up across the road, and with the beautiful morning light, and the cold textured backdrop
I thought it was worth setting up my camera for one last shot.
Trona, California. Kodak Portra 160
If you are familiar with the history of Trona, you will understand its decline.
We only drove through it, but I have never seen a town so broken and destroyed. And yet, there is still a community that live and work there. I was attracted to that almost apocalyptic scene and took only this one photo at a brief stop. Another favourite of mine. I hope to visit there again.
The road out of Lake Tahoe. Kodak Portra 160
Leaving Lake Tahoe, there were signs of a previous forest fire, and I hoped to find a scene where I could capture the burnt ground. But with the twisting mountain roads and undulating landscape, I couldn’t see anywhere to stop. I had almost given up when, coming around a bend, I spotted a patch of flat land and a place to pull over. Cue a sudden brake and cars behind me hooting and gesturing.
My son and I grabbed the camera gear and started walking to find the right spot. We’re not snow people mind you, I’ve only seen snow maybe four times in my life. Soon we were knee-deep and struggling, but we got the shot! By the time we clambered back to the car, our cotton pants and canvas sneakers were soaked, making for an uncomfortable day, but I knew I’d be happy with the photograph I managed to get.
The road to Monument Valley, Arizona. Kodak Portra 160
The drive to Monument Valley was, for me, a candy lane of broken, abandoned buildings which I so enjoy photographing. I stopped so many times making us very late to our next destination. Only a few scenes have made the cut into this collection but every stop was worthwhile.
It was probably the most scenic drive on our road trip with the landscape changing constantly.
The road to Monument Valley, Arizona. Kodak Portra 160
Abandoned service station. Another stop on the way to Monument Valley, possibly near Tonalea.
The road to Monument Valley, Arizona. Kodak Portra 160
This must of been the workshop of the old service station. These old buildings seem to have
become the billboards of political opinions which I believe adds
to the intrigue but I just liked the central composition and the lines of the clouds.
Monument Valley, Arizona. Kodak Portra 160
There is nothing particularly special about this photograph. Anyone can shoot this scene because it’s the view from the balcony of a hotel. Every single room in the hotel has this view and it must be the best hotel view I have ever experienced. There is a natural calm in Monument Valley and I highly recommend the experience. And take this photo from the balcony of your hotel room.
Monument Valley, Arizona. Kodak Portra 160 (converted).
This is the same scene but photographed at sunset after the sun had already disappeared instead of dawn. The dawn shot asked to be colour but I felt the sunset shot was asking to be converted to black and white.
Monument Valley, Arizona. Kodak Portra 160 (converted).
Another photograph that begged to be in black and white. I shoot a lot of black and white but I feel that the 617 suits colour photographs better while my 645 Mamiya cameras love shooting in black and white.
So oddly enough, I rarely shoot BW with my Fujifilm 617 and
I never really shoot colour film in my other medium format cameras.
Amargosa Valley, Nevada. Kodak Portra 160
While driving along Route 95 and passing through Amargosa Valley, my son spotted the Area 51 Alien Center and wanted to stop. I saw a lone container against the desert backdrop and knew I wanted the shot.
While I was taking it, a local wandered up and asked if I was photographing wildlife.
I said no and asked if there was anything I should be worried about.
He told me the only wildlife to worry about comes from above, and that if I were abducted by aliens,
I should hope they were female, as I might enjoy the probing; and that I certainly wouldn’t
if they were male. I said okay and thanked him for the advice. It was a bizarre, but enjoyable interaction.
Amargosa Valley, Nevada. Kodak Portra 160
This stop had everything I was looking for. A broken down building, a desert landscape and a mountainous backdrop with plenty of different colours and tones. I still wonder who George Soros is and why he won’t buy paint for the person doing the graffiti. Worth a Google search I guess.
Williams, Arizona. Kodak Portra 160
Our Williams stay was an enjoyable one, obviously for the train trip to the Grand Canyon but also for the enjoyable conversations with all the folk we met. I saw this abandoned train car and usually they are fenced off but not here in Williams, so I was able to get close enough to get the framing I wanted.
I love the colours and texture. I do enjoy this type of photograph composition and subject matter.
Williams, Arizona. Kodak Portra 160
This is not an abandoned anything, but the main street of Williams did feel a
little deserted as most of the tourist shops had closed for the winter.
This little shop just appealed to me, maybe because it looks a bit like a container.
Jamestown, California. Kodak Portra 160
We were passing through Jamestown and stopped for coffee, but I saw this train on the way out,
and it fits the kind of scene and framing I’m drawn to. I just loved the colours and textures.
Oatman Rd, Arizona. Kodak Portra 160
I credit my wife for this shot. We had just escaped off the main highway onto this single lane road,
she saw this "herd" of postboxes and thought it would make a good photograph.
She was right, it is everything in it that I like to photograph. A quirky scene in an isolated landscape.
Oatman Rd, Arizona. Kodak Portra 160
Cool Springs Station. This is a common stop on the way to Oatman Arizona, but instead of the shopping experience, I found this scene to the side of the main building and
I just liked the collection of bits and pieces with a beautiful desert background.
Rhyolite, Nevada. Kodak Portra 160
Probably the most photographed ghost town in Nevada. It's very easily accessible and well worth the stop.
I took a lot of photographs here but they all seemed a bit too normal and stereotypical.
This one is the only one I really liked and felt I could add to this collection.
Grand Canyon, Arizona. Kodak Portra 160
This is the first view that hits you when you reach the rim of the Grand Canyon.
You’ve probably taken this photo yourself. I included it partly as a memory, but mostly because of the layers,
the colours and textures running through the ridges, and the way the cloud shadows move across them.
The 617 format makes this image.
It’s the closest I can get to how it actually feels standing at the edge and taking it all in.
San Francisco, California. Kodak Portra 160
A familiar view, and a memory of the Golden Gate Bridge.
This is a photograph that will hang in my home for two reasons: it reminds me of an enjoyable stay in
San Francisco, and the 617 format gives a true sense of the late afternoon scene.
Yosemite, California. Kodak Portra 160
There were probably about twenty people taking this same photograph at a well-known viewing spot in Yosemite National Park. I nearly didn’t take it because it’s such a common scene, but I thought it’s exactly the kind of image the Fujifilm G617 was made for. So while many people have taken this photo,
I imagine that very few have had the pleasure of capturing it on 6x17cm medium format film.
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