Stevens Creek Reservoir 2019-2022 — CLAUS PHOTOGRAPHY

Part of a three-year project, these black and white photographs explore human impact on a local reservoir in the foothills bordering California’s Silicon Valley. They reveal not only how people have affected this landscape by documenting material culture, but also show the wider impact of a mega-drought exacerbated by climate change.

By limiting myself to using only a smartphone, and working only in black & white, I wanted to spotlight the tangibility of what I found, as I explored the reservoir. But I was also interested in conveying the peculiar experience of traversing a lakebed on foot at a time when California was gripped by its worst drought in 1,200 years, and no-one knew when—or whether—the usual winter rains would return to replenish the lake.

The objects I found on that lakebed told a story of a profligate society living by the dictum of “out of sight, out of mind.” Old shoes, beer cans, and tires are only a fraction of what the receding water uncovered, and made me wonder about the people who had discarded them here, and their relationship to this location.

Yet at the same time, these relics also revealed an unexpected beauty in their patterns, textures, and shapes. Bleached driftwood emerging from thickets of weeds captured my imagination just as much as seedlings sprouting from mud, or the perfect symmetry of a discarded tire offset by jagged rocks. Here was a visual landscape perfectly matched to my monochromatic approach.

End of the Spillway

End of the Spillway

Abandoned Sneaker, Still Laced Up

Abandoned Sneaker, Still Laced Up

Abandoned Workglove

Abandoned Workglove

Boat Launch and Pontoon

Boat Launch and Pontoon

Picnic Area in Morning Fog

Picnic Area in Morning Fog

At the Base of the Dam

At the Base of the Dam

Cat's Eye on the Lakebed

Cat's Eye on the Lakebed

Crushed Plastic Bottle on the Lakebed

Crushed Plastic Bottle on the Lakebed

Old Tire and Driftwood by the Picnic Area

Old Tire and Driftwood by the Picnic Area

Old Tire on the Lakebed

Old Tire on the Lakebed

Deadwood and Weeds on the Upper Lakebed

Deadwood and Weeds on the Upper Lakebed

Inside the Spillway

Inside the Spillway

Looking Down into the Spillway

Looking Down into the Spillway

Looking Down the Middle of the Dam

Looking Down the Middle of the Dam

Quiet Evening

End of the Spillway

End of the Spillway

Abandoned Sneaker, Still Laced Up

Abandoned Sneaker, Still Laced Up

Abandoned Workglove

Abandoned Workglove

Boat Launch and Pontoon

Boat Launch and Pontoon

Picnic Area in Morning Fog

Picnic Area in Morning Fog

At the Base of the Dam

At the Base of the Dam

Cat's Eye on the Lakebed

Cat's Eye on the Lakebed

Crushed Plastic Bottle on the Lakebed

Crushed Plastic Bottle on the Lakebed

Old Tire and Driftwood by the Picnic Area

Old Tire and Driftwood by the Picnic Area

Old Tire on the Lakebed

Old Tire on the Lakebed

Deadwood and Weeds on the Upper Lakebed

Deadwood and Weeds on the Upper Lakebed

Inside the Spillway

Inside the Spillway

Looking Down into the Spillway

Looking Down into the Spillway

Looking Down the Middle of the Dam

Looking Down the Middle of the Dam

Quiet Evening

Quiet Evening

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