1. The picnic shelter at Whitesands, Alamagordo, New Mexico
Built to shield from summer heat. I have photographed the shelter from sat within it looking out at the next shelter, from the side to give a view of the shape and from behind. Sitting under a metal structure in the heat of a New Mexico summer would still be preferable to sitting without a shelter. These pictures were taken in the middle of winter in biting wind - hence the lack of people.
After completing this project I was looking at some photos by Garry Winogrand and found the one below that he took at Whitesands. I think that with my photos, if you didn't know where this place was, it could be anywhere. There is nothing to give away what country you are looking at. In the Winogrand shot having the car in frame indicates that this is the 1960's in the USA. The hint of red from the man's shirt not only draws the eye to him but also evokes the red, white and blue of the American flag. Looking at this shot it feels to me like it is staged in order to get everyone in the right place - the car and the shelter balancing either side of the shot with the woman and child either side of the bbq stand - but there is something other worldly about it. It's obviously summer as the sand is dry whereas my shots in the winter show the sand wet and therefore darker in colour.
2. Apache wikiup, near Fort Bowie, Arizona
A mock up of a wikiup, originally built as a temporary winter shelter for a nomadic tribe.
I have photographed it from inside, crouching down on a log opposite the one in the photograph to get the view of the sitter around the fire. I've also shot from this position looking upwards at the bear grass that the shelter is made from, and from outside to show the entire structure.
