DAYS & PLACES
By the Silvery Moon.
Concerned he might not capture Palm Springs in a unique way, Australian photographer Tom Blachford extended shooting into the night. As luck would have it, there was a full moon, and this unusual source of light gave his night-time pictures a curious sheen. Iconic, familiar Palm Springs architecture took on an almost supernatural appearance. The pictures haunted him on his return to Australia.
On a second journey to the desert resort town, he timed it so his subjects would be lit by a super moon. He presented his work to the Palm Springs Modern Committee – an organisation dedicated to preserving for Desert Modern architecture – and was granted access to more local houses. The results are eerily beautiful, repackaging the former celebrity address as a series of surreal landscapes. Geometric architecture, still pools, deserted yards – scenes reminiscent of a computer render or a cruise through San Andreas.