Hoover Dam at the Nevada / Arizona Border

Constructed between 1931 to 1936, the Hoover Dam (once the Boulder Dam) was an engineering feat and a massive undertaking when it was built during the Great Depression. Over 5,000 people worked on the project, and the town of Boulder, Nevada had to be established to house them all. Spanning the border between Nevada and Arizona, the Hoover Dam is still a hugely popular landmark and stop along the Colorado River.

These images are a combination of two visits I made to the Hoover Dam in 2008 and 2010. During that time I saw the construction and completion of the Hoover Dam Bypass project (Mike O'Callaghan - Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge), which rerouted the interstate from crossing the dam to a brand new bridge spanning the canyon.

Located just a short drive from Las Vegas, the Hoover Dam also resulted in the creation of Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the United States. Water demands and drought have taken a toll, and as of 2016 the lake has reached its lowest level since being filled in the 1930's. There are very real concerns, as in addition to water supply, the Hoover Dam is still a massive generator of hydroelectricity providing power to nearly 8 million people in Arizona, southern California, and southern Nevada. The "bathtub ring" around Lake Mead shows the devastating drop.  

Construction of the Hoover Dam Bypass project in 2008.

Inside the tunnels of the Hoover Dam.

Completed Hoover Dam Bypass in 2010.

Hollywood in Black and White

I revisited some of the images I shot in 2010 on Hollywood Boulevard in search of a new challenge. In the past I only posted snapshots from my travels, and looking at these old images I saw a lot of potential in creating new edits for them. Hollywood is a tourist trap that's been photographed a million times, so I thought it would be fun to play with that vintage stereotype that's come to define the location. 

I edited all of my shots in varying shades of black and white, even masking textures on some to replicate vintage photographs. I wanted to play up the grittiness and textures, and treated the images like they were a backdrop to an old film noir. It was a completely different way of looking at the images that I originally shared here.