Beyond the city, the journey took us into the California desert. The landscape shifted constantly, from dry terrain and sharp rock formations to long, silent stretches fomed by heat and time. We met locals who had spent their lives working the land in this arid region. Their stories shaped by decades of living with the land rather than trying to tame it. The heat was already intense in March, blurring the horizon as we hiked toward an oasis in nearly forty degrees. The desert bloom became the reward, wide fields of color breaking through the landscape. Raw, uncompromising, and striking. Shot on film.