It was the end of 2012 and after working hard in Australia for more then two years, I was feeling restless. I hadn’t been overseas since coming back from living and working in Canada as well as a trip throughout the USA in mid 2010. So after a few discussions with my brother, we decided on doing a big trip through the US, Canada, across to Europe and eventually the UK where I would live and work. I spent another six months working hard, saving my money and planning for the summer trip.

As apart of the the USA trip, I suggested to my brother Bryce that we do a desert road trip through some of the western states to get out of the big cities and check out some national parks. Previously in 2000, we had done a huge family trip through California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah. It was an amazing trip in hindsight which took in many iconic national parks but being 14 at the time, I never really appreciated the magnificence and beauty of the unique places we were visiting. So fast forward 14 years and with a much more mature perspective of a 27-year-old, I thought revisiting these beautiful location along with my love of film and cameras would be a perfect combination.

So in early July 2013, I flew from Brisbane to LA to stay for one night before flying on to Las Vegas the next day to meet up with Bryce. The road trip didn’t start according to plan with Bryce arriving eight hours late after being on standby for a flight from Denver. So once he finally arrived we picked up our small rental car and drove late into the the night to out first stop in Kingman just over the border in Arizona. For the next six to seven days we drove hundreds of miles throughout three states. We visited the magnificent Grand Canyon National Park, took in the rich, red colours of Monument Valley, got to witness the beauty of Bryce Canyon National Park and gaze in amazement at the large valley formations of Zion National Park.

On our final day, we packed our bags into our rental car and made the trip back to Las Vegas en route to our next destination, San Francisco. This is still one of the best trips I’ve been on in my life and really made me fall in love with the desert. So much so that I’ve been back for a second road trip (post to come soon) and more plans to go back again sometime in the future. Feels like my second home! It was also the first time I completely shot using Kodak Ektar 100 and man the results speak for themselves. The gorgeous red and blue tones really shine through!

1 - 3: Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
4 - 6: Monument Valley, Utah
6 - 7: Glen Canyon Dam, Arizona
8: Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
9 - 10: Kolob Canyon, Utah
11: St George, Utah

All images shot on a Mamiya 7, 80mm f4.0 lens and Kodak Ektar 100 film. Developed and scanned by Richard Photo Lab in Los Angeles, California.

06 - Into the desert 01