Almost Heaven
by Jeffrey Robins
portfolio special mention call 'Urbanautica Institute Awards 2023', 2023
Category: People and Communities
"Almost Heaven" is a series of images created inside and around Death Valley, CA, featuring locals I met and the places they live. Despite living in one of the most severe climates in the world and oftentimes suffering from dire financial straits, the people who live in the desert all describe it as being “like paradise”. This project is about the tension presented in Death Valley between life and death, where people live harmoniously with the desert and, after reconciling the danger that exists therein, find beauty in the debris that surrounds them. Through the process of making photographs of people in Death Valley, I not only discovered the peace that they had found in embracing the unknown, but I discovered my own.
also from Urbanautica Institute Awards 2023