In 2020 during the pandemic, I expanded my project to include photography from the ground level, zooming in from a completely different perspective. I began by photographing the Ravenswood salt ponds bordering the headquarters of Meta/Facebook in Menlo Park, CA. Photographing from the ground has allowed me to reveal wound-like openings in the earth and signs of new life just beginning under the surface. While photographing, my experience of the colors and textures of this already surreal landscape was heightened after what seemed like many months of sensory deprivation during the lockdown phase of the pandemic. Technology workers look out over these ponds from slick glass buildings and many of them are not aware that this miraculous transformation is taking place in their own backyard. These images hint at the vast technology sector that protrudes from the horizon looming just on the other side of the ponds. The cracked surface of the earth looks almost like an alien planet juxtaposed next to the opulent, manufactured structures cocooning the social media headquarters.
These images were taken on the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Public visiting the Refuge must stay on designated trails for their own safety and for the protection of sensitive wildlife and their habitats. A permit from the National Wildlife Refuge is required for access into areas not specifically designated for public access and recreational use.