I recently paid a visit to Joshua Tree National Park. Since I’ve been photographing there for almost 40 years, I’ve grown rather fond of the place. I first went there carrying a 4x5 view camera. Now my camera sports a tiny photo sensor rather than a large sheet of Tri-X film. Still, it’s a rewarding experience to climb the ancient boulders, get some sand in my boots and make some images. Not long ago I wrote a post about never being able to step in the same river twice. While true, that doesn’t mean that we can never visit a familiar haunt. I cannot re-create those photos I made decades ago - why would I want to?  But, each time I revisit the park I get a different view. It’s a little like visiting a (human) old friend; you feel comfortable in each other’s presence, but you can still occasionally discover a new facet in the old gem. After all, as stated in the Tao Te Ching, “Return is the movement of the Tao.”

If you’d like to see some of the photographs from my most recent visit to Joshua Tree N.P., check out the “Recent Additions–Joshua” gallery. (Once there, click on "Slideshow" to view the largest images.)  I’d love to hear what you think!

Do you have any "Old Friends" that you like to visit?  I'd love to hear about it.  Just use the comments section below.