The Accidental Sea: An Artistic Look A Post-Apocalyptic Hell-Hole

In the video below writer Ransom Riggs gives us an artistic tour of the Salton Sea in California. With a tripod, 5DmII, Steadicam Merlin, 24mm, and 100mm, Riggs creates a powerful look at a deserted town in desert of California.



Lee Morris's picture

Lee Morris is a professional photographer based in Charleston SC, and is the co-owner of Fstoppers.com

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19 Comments

cool video, it's like a mini documentary. i like it

loved it!

my grandparents bought property there, that i'll inherit some day ;p

 Bravo is all I can say. Incredible work. I believe if he had expanded on the stranger's life and how his life sailed toward this accidental sea, he would've made the film long enough for submission into a film festival. Its that good!

What a great video, gave great insight to the past and what had happened through time and a visually interesting story.  No fast cuts, no crazy action scenes with amazing lighting, just telling the story how it is.  Would love to see more work posted by him.

 haha this is awesome! I watched Rusko's new video for Everyday and it looks like it was shot at this place. Cool to have some background info on a place like this 

I love how this is presented. Almost forgot about all the technicalities and was drawn into the story, very well told.

 The gentleman artist of Salvation Mountain is Leonard Knight.  You can find his work through many "outsider art" sites on the internet.  He has an interesting story.  I have met him.  I am happy to see that he is still alive.  It has been about seven or eight years since I was inspired to visit Salvation Mountain from the photography that was used on the desert rock band, Kyuss, "And the Circus Leaves Town", record, which featured images also from the partially inhabited town of Bombay Beach.  I photographed at his place in Niland, CA, which is part of a WWII tank training base, now called Slab City, and home to snowbirds and people who want to be left alone.  Definitely a place no one will want to find you, but worth the visit.  

 I to

 Wow. Great stuff. Inspiration for a creepy novel...

 WOwohowowha!!! That is cool!!

 I think that artist is also in the movie Into the Wild, right? Awesome video and a whole different take on Urbex, which I normally dread...

 Great short. You had me glued watching that. Want to see more.

This is honestly one of the best video I've seen. Extremely well made, very interesting! Wow, the editing is great, very very professional.

 wow! it's awsome!

Mix this somehow with a video from chernobyl and you've got a great story!

 wow! it's awsome!

Mix this somehow with a video from chernobyl and you've got a great story!

nice little video.. goes to show that a story-telling is a skill much more important than fancy camera work

Wonderful narrative. I remember the first time I drove through the Salton Sea and thought "Why?" I had no idea what a brief, turbulent history the area had been through.

Great video... I work just 30 mins from the salton sea and I hear how they want to start building homes and a F1 race track in that direction. I give it 20 years and there will be sea side properties for sale.