California 2008, Travel diary: On the trail of Jean-Loup Sieff
1978.
Jean-Loup Sieff has just published his book on Death Valley. His black and white photos, published in magazines, fascinated me. I’d just started learning photography. California is still a long way away for me. I’m still a student! Maybe one day. These images by Sieff have been quietly etched in a corner of my memory.
2008
Thirty years later, I think about it more and more. The idea of a trip to California has germinated and even matured. It’s already been 8 years since Jean-Loup left us. I still have some of his books on my bookshelf, including the one on Death Valley. My sister gave me Raymond Depardon’s book Le désert américain. That was the trigger. We decided to buy the plane tickets. Nicole, who shares my life, loves travelling with me. The dates were chosen. It would be a fortnight in April. It’s not a lot of time, but if you get organised you can do some interesting things. It’ll be great.
2024
16 years later, I rediscover these photos taken in 2008, but with my 2024 eye. The new editing is different. Some photos have been discarded and others that I didn’t notice at the time have been selected to form a new portfolio of around thirty photographs from over 700 taken during the trip.
Thursday 10th April
The luggage is packed. I take with me my Leica M6 for black and white film, my brand new Nikon D300 for digital colour, and my second-hand Hasselblad. Everything was ready, and by 5pm we were enjoying a beer at Saint Malo station while waiting for the TER to Rennes. There we took the TGV to Roissy. On arrival at the airport, a shuttle bus takes us to the Ibis hotel for our first night of the trip.
Friday 11th April
Up early, around 6am. The shuttle takes us to the terminal to catch the 8am flight to Amsterdam. We take off from Amsterdam at around 1pm and land in San
Francisco around 2pm after a 10-hour flight. We had a time difference of 9 hours. It’s funny to find ourselves at the start of the afternoon in a city we don’t know, when our biological clock is telling us 11pm! The day has lasted 33 hours. We’ll have to have a fourth meal in the evening. We pick up the rental car we booked on the internet at Avis. It’s a brand new American version of the Ford Focus. From now on, Nicole will take care of the maps, city plans and hotel logistics.
I drive and take photos. To absorb the time difference, we spent the first three nights in the same hotel in San Francisco.
same hotel in San Francisco. The bedroom window looks out onto a wall.
Saturday 12th April
The car stays in the car park all day. We use the famous ‘Cable Cars’ to get around. These railcars, which have no engine, are set in motion by steel cables running in a groove between the rails in the street. To move forward, a clamp, operated by the driver using large levers, grips the cable and the car moves forward at 15 km/h. At the end of each line, the direction of travel must be reversed.
The cars are then placed on rotating platforms to make a U-turn using the power of their arms. This show always attracts a big crowd.
Sunday 13th April
Before we left, a friend had warned me: ‘If you see the Golden Gate, take a photo of it straight away, otherwise you might not see it again, as it’s often fogged in. We took the car to drive around the bay. The Golden Gate Bridge is there, in all its splendour, under the April sun. We took it, first on foot until we were halfway across. The traffic is deafening and causes vibrations every time a lorry passes.
It’s a nuisance for photos. We then crossed it by car. After a nice walk around the bay, we returned to San Francisco via the Bay Bridge. In the evening we stopped at the yacht club to get an overview of the bridge. Everything was ready for the photos. And then the Golden Gate Bridge disappears. It is shrouded in a thick layer of fog coming in from the sea. I’d been warned.
Monday 14th April
The time difference means we can get up early without any effort. We set off early for the Sierra Nevada and Yosemite National Park. I drive and Nicole guides me. We drive across vast meadows, past ranches and then see the dark mountains of the Sierra Nevada in the distance. We spend two nights in a motel in Oak Kurst at the entrance to the park. A long walk through the snow led us to the giant sequoia trees. Back at the motel, Nicole, who is never without her laptop, booked accommodation online for our next stop, at Death Valley Junction.
Tuesday 15th April
Yosemite Park. This glacial valley is said to be the most photographed place in the world. It is also the favourite haunt of photographer Ansel Adams. A
dedicated to him. We come across many photographers with tripods and medium- and large-format silver cameras. Some use the famous ‘zone system’ developed by the master of the house. The souvenir shop sells all kinds of film, even 120 reels, as well as accessories and filters for black and white.
Wednesday 16th April
In April, the road that should have taken us through the Sierra Nevada is still closed due to snow. We were forced to make a 400km diversions to reach Death Valley. Death Valley Junction is a town marked on the map. In fact, it’s just a crossroads in the middle of numerous disused buildings that bear witness to past industrial activity. Only our hotel is in business. It’s not the tourist season. Only three rooms are occupied. To eat, we have to travel 20 km to find a saloon and a restaurant in a casino on the other side of the border, in Nevada.
Thursday 17th April
Arid, stony and very hot in summer, Death Valley is the lowest point in the northern hemisphere. At 86 metres below sea level, temperatures can reach over 60°C in midsummer. At Zabriski Point, I came across the landscapes photographed by Sieff in 1978 and the bench photographed by Depardon in 1982. It has since been moved. I also imagine Jean-Loup and Barbara in their camper van. We return to the saloon where we spent the evening before. We’re already regulars. The inhabitants of this remote corner of the desert love talking to strangers.
Friday 18th April
We stay in Death Valley until late morning. To see Dante View and the sea of crystallised salt. A guy in a big hat arrives in a 4×4. He took out a camera and a tripod, took a few steps into the salt crevasses, took a few photos and left just as quickly. He barely stayed five minutes.
On the way to Las Vegas, we stopped for food and water in a cafeteria of some sort. A portly waitress serves us huge cokes.
Saturday 19th April
We visit the Hoover Dam. It was the highest dam in the world when it was built in 1935. It is built on the Colorado River and produces electricity for Nevada and Arizona. In the evening, we’re back to the hustle and bustle of the Las Vegas casinos, with the old ladies pounding away on the slot machines. We no longer hear the sound of falling coins. They have been replaced by electronic cards.
Sunday 20th April
To get to Hollywood, the motorway crosses vast stretches of desert. There’s nothing there but rocky fields. The petrol gauge is low and there’s still no filling station. I should have filled up before I left. The motorways have up to 8 lanes in each direction. The lorries are enormous, the people are enormous, the distances are infinite, and the few towns that are marked on the map are really just big crossroads surrounded by a few buildings. The entrance to Los Angeles is endless, with all those motorway junctions going off in every direction.
Monday 21st April
On the road that runs along the coast north of Los Angeles, we come across the seaside resorts of Santa Monica and Malibu, the towns of the American TV series.At this time of year, the beaches are practically deserted, but you still have to pay to park your car and have access to the sea, unless you eat for more than twenty dollars at the beach restaurant.Then parking is free.
Tuesday 22nd April
We decide to drive slowly back up to San Francisco. In Los Alamos, we have lunch in a Mexican restaurant with homemade tacos and an excellent beer.
with an excellent beer.Dos Equis.We stop for the night in San Simeon.It’s a seaside resort, deserted in April, with around fifteen hotels, each emptier than the last.Dozens of tree trunks have washed up on the beach.
Wednesday 23rd April
The road up to San Francisco along the Pacific Ocean is very picturesque and winding. This time, at our hotel in San Francisco, our room had a view of an avenue.
Thursday 24th April
This day is devoted to shopping.I drive and Nicole guides me.We drive across vast meadows, past ranches and then see the dark mountains of the Sierra Nevada in the distance.We spend two nights in a motel in Oak Kurst at the entrance to the park.
Friday 25th April
Back to the airport. It’s all over now. We’re going home.
