Embarking on a Christmas holiday camping trip in the California desert presented a refreshing departure from tradition. At elevations surpassing seven thousand feet at times, a delicate dusting of snow is the only nod to a typical Christmas in sight.

After spending too many evenings at altitude we decided to shift to a more anticipated desert location just outside Joshua Tree where temperatures fall into a more reasonable range for winter camping.

En route, we stumbled upon a roadside gem just off the famed Route 66 —the Bottle Tree Ranch. Boasting hundreds of vintage glass bottles crafted into tree shapes, it’s a photographer’s dream amidst a collection of various other oddities baking in the desert sun. The sheer abundance was almost overwhelming and I realized a more focused approach was needed to capture the uniqueness of this place.

The late afternoon sun, partially obscured by a high overcast, provided the ideal conditions to backlight many of the collected items. Among them, a grouping of plastic bottles pressed flat inside a wire frame stood out as the unique and opposite subject I sought this afternoon.

This unexpected place, filled with thousands of like objects set against a stark desert landscape, felt fitting for the past week where the ideas of tradition and non-conformity defined the hallmark of the season for me and my family.