This Dusty Roads editorial with Shamir is a direct result that I very much dislike winter. In fact I spend all winter long waiting for summer. And then when the good weather is here I take a lot of pleasure in doing outdoor editorial fashion style shoots for no other reason than it’s fun.
Nah, I’m no fashion photographer. I’m just an enthusiast that receives much needed therapy by taking photos.
Shamir met me at my house in the morning, we had a cup of coffee, and then hit the road. The first stop was a great high desert location that overlooks a lake. Had to get a quick shot of Shamir admiring the view.
Shamir brought a bunch of different clothes, but I wanted to keep it in the realm of Shamir’s free spirit style; in other words, you wear what you want. A lot of what she decided to wear was a kind of amalgam of BoHo and goth? Not really sure, but I think it worked. She brought it all out and threw it on the hood of the truck and we just randomly grabbed some clothes and she put them on.
Amidst the junipers, bunchgrass, and high desert air everything seemed to fall into place. No method, just a little madness.
This old abandoned gas station is one of my favorite locations; especially at midday sun like it was here.
From the old gas station we continued up the road further into the desert. Out in this remote area there are many little nooks and crannies to simply pull over and make something happen. Like this little row of stairs between two old buildings.
The West Desert has a long mining history going back over one hundred years. There are a lot of broken down buildings and trains. It’s not unusual to see an old passenger boxcar sitting off of the road in tiny out of the way towns.
Once again we jumped in the truck and headed further west deep into desert country. On the drive Shamir intended to do a change, but couldn’t really find anything that she was feeling. The only thing that I really had a strong feeling about was the black cover that she had been wearing thus far.
Once we got to the location, however, she looked at the sand dunes and felt she had an inspiration of exactly what she wanted to do. We sat in the truck for a few minutes and drank a lot of water, and then set out into the barren landscape.
It was time to head back to civilization so we walked back to the truck, pointed it east and drove.
Model: Shamir
Equipment used: Sony Alpha 7R IV, Sony 135mm F1.8 GM, Sony 85mm F1.8, Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 DG
All images © Daniel Medley – 2023