John Konovsky

After a career working as a xwənitəm̓ Conservation Biologist alongside Coast Salish Peoples, I have spent my retirement chasing morning light.

These images come from many trips to the Sonoran Desert of the Baja California Peninsula, Mexico — a place neither pristine wilderness nor fully shaped by human intention. Geology, biology, and the ocean interact constantly, frequently altered by human hands. The desert along the Sea of Cortez is dense with history. Old-growth Cardón cacti, Saguaro's larger cousin, form vast cathedral forests.

The Cochimí peoples, long gone, left sacred narratives in their ancient rock art. The Spanish invasion forged a missionary and ranchero culture shaped by a demanding landscape. Dawn organizes most of this work. In that early light, when the desert is briefly cool and the day has yet to unfold, the countryside feels fragile and enduring at once. I am haunted by that tension.