WHEN THE AVERAGE PERSON GOES TO WHITE SANDS, they are astonished by, well, the white sands. But when Sinna Nasseri goes to White Sands, he takes pictures of the sun shelters. It’s like he sees things others don’t.
Which is precisely what has made him one of the most sought after photographic journalists in the world. He shoots for every major magazine you can think of, and in 2020, just before the election, he crisscrossed the Southwest to take the political temperatures of our far-flung desert towns. (He’s preparing to do the same next year.) Along this route, he stopped in one of his favorite places, White Sands.
Why White Sands?
When I go there I feel out of my body. I get a manic feeling and I just let the power of the place take over. I went there in 2020 and when I saw these sheds, I thought, Man, this is calling to me. It’s the white sand, it’s the color of the sky, the way the light moves. It’s a place of peace and curiosity. In the photos, I let the mystical, the magical, the other-worldy element seep through. I mean, that place is not exactly from our world, is it?
These pictures are not “postcard New Mexico.”
I’ve been through New Mexico a bunch of times. The Southwest is where a lot of my shooting happens now. I really love the people in New Mexico. There’s a lot of characters here, a lot of artists and creative people have descended here and created these lives that they are open to sharing with other like-minded people. It’s a real openness you don’t get most places. I keep coming back.
Even though it’s not White Sands, my favorite photo is the llama. It is so New Mexico.
It is so New Mexico. That was in Clayton. And that llama was really a sweetie. I was taking pictures and the llama kept inching closer and closer to me. It was coming to say hi. We had a little moment of commune. I wish I could have gone through the fence and given it a treat.
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Photo Kyle Myles
