Mountains of Glass

Searching for views that communicate a design intent can often be quite consuming. Sometimes, the quickest way to find a great shot is to slow down, breathe, and simply listen. Occasionally, there are times that encourage this slow down. While photographing the new Shadow Hills High School in Indio, CA designed by Ruhnau Ruhnau Clarke, I came across one of those times. With 115 degree heat, a zero wind factor, and sweat streaming through my eyes, I was constantly stopping to clear my vision. This inevitable slow down gave me time to better appreciate the landscape of the project and led me to finding this shot. Three rooftops up, atop the school gymnasium, I noticed a relationship between the skylights and the mountain range that I couldn’t pass up. While this was not one of the planned shots, this view spoke loud and clear to me, be it through stinging eyes full of sweat and tears. Here are some other perspectives from this very large, hot, high school shoot.