"Nature Is God"
~~~~~
Another fun mile-long walk in the dark of night with no trails to photograph these fascinating carved rocks left by a former miner and rancher in the 1920s. I am grateful to my handy GPS, and not so grateful for the cactus that nailed me on the return trip. John Samuelson was a miner and rancher for the Keys Ranch. In the 1920s, he built a cabin and began carving messages into the rocks nearby in what is now Joshua Tree National Park. He eventually moved to Los Angeles with his wife, where he then killed two people in Compton. He was declared insane, but later escaped from the hospital. Illuminated by a ProtoMachines LED2 light and a full moon. The photo shows the movement of the stars over 306 seconds of time, created by the movement of the earth. There are eight rocks with carvings on this hill. Yes, I found all eight.
~~~~~
Photos, books, workshops: www.kenleephotography.com



Old Car City Workshop - October 2023

[MikeNArk]

Very interesting history behind the messages carved into this rock and the others on the hill. Wonderful lighting of the rock and foreground with a beautiful sky beyond. What moves a man to do this? Insane or enlightened? Well done, Ken.

[angkymac]

Very great capture.
The story fits the situation!
A man left to his own thoughts for a long time and reflecting on what he sees based upon his one interpretation of it--then moving to a new environment with little ability to adjust.
Interesting to contemplate.
Angky

[Ken Lee]

Very interesting history behind the messages carved into this rock and the others on the hill. Wonderful lighting of the rock and foreground with a beautiful sky beyond. What moves a man to do this? Insane or enlightened? Well done, Ken.

I don't know, but this guy later was judged insane and killed two people in Compton (Los Angeles). These were all carved near the home he built when he was working for Keys Ranch. His house is no longer there, but all eight of these carved rocks are. Some of them are rather challenging to find.

---------- Post added 03-23-23 at 06:11 PM ----------

Very great capture.
The story fits the situation!
A man left to his own thoughts for a long time and reflecting on what he sees based upon his one interpretation of it--then moving to a new environment with little ability to adjust.
Interesting to contemplate.
Angky

It is. I wonder what he might have been like to meet.

[Tonytee]

A great image with a very comprehensive and interesting narration. Thanks very much for sharing.

Tony

[Ken Lee]

A great image with a very comprehensive and interesting narration. Thanks very much for sharing.

Tony

Thanks for the kind words!

[RICHARD L.]

"SKULLROCK" in Joshua Tree Nat'l Park would make a terrific subject for night photography such as you do. I didn't know there was this sculpted rock in the Park.

Best Regards

[Ken Lee]

"SKULLROCK" in Joshua Tree Nat'l Park would make a terrific subject for night photography such as you do. I didn't know there was this sculpted rock in the Park.

Best Regards

The carved rocks with the messages aren't super well known. They also require a bit of walking to get there.



I photographed this November 2013 when I was just learning how to do night photography. I made the mistake of leaving the house without my tripod. Fortunately, I kept an emergency tripod in the back of the car. This was my Dad's giant, clunky aluminum Sears tripod from the 1970s. It had a large black handle grip for adjusting the position of the camera. Since it was dark, I rammed my teeth on it twice while looking through the camera. I created this photo by lighting the rock with a handheld LED flashlight. Headlights from passing cars did the rest. I found this dusty photo in the digital*attic. It brings back fun memories of Joshua Tree, teeth ramming, clumsy tripods, and figuring out how to create night photos!

[RICHARD L.]

[Ken Lee]

There it is!