A Lake Reborn In Death Valley

• Photographer
  > Joson
• Agency / Studio
  Joson Studio- Sf
• Photo Date
  2023-2024

This project documents the remnants of an ancient lake that became visible in Death Valley National Park after extraordinary rainfall from Tropical Storm Hilary in fall 2023. A significant accumulation of water led to the sudden appearance of a vast lake in the renowned Badwater Basin, one of the hottest, driest places in the world.

Award-winning photographer joSon was born in the Philippines to a Filipino mother and an African American father. Sent to live with his mother’s family in Vietnam at age ten, he was educated in a Buddhist temple in preparation for becoming a monk. “I thought that was my calling long before I saw life through the viewfinder,” joSon recollects. “But the truth is, I have never left the monk-hood. I just left the temple.” Today joSon is a professional photographer based in San Francisco whose work is collected by an international list of clients.