. JUNE 2013 BACK ISSUE by George Steinmetz Triptychs For the past fifteen years George has been working on a somewhat obsessive project to photograph all of the world's hyper arid regions. The idea came to him when he started flying his motorized paraglider over the Sahara in the late 90s, and has taken him to 27 countries plus Antarctica. What he found on this odyssey was a collection of co-evolved landscapes, like a disparate family, with each desert having unique variations on the common dry-land features of sand dunes, salt lakes, and wind erosion.  He also discovered the highly developed strategies that allow man, vegetation, and wildlife to endure on the outer limits of survival. This portfolio is a small selection of this work that is appearing in George's latest book, Desert Air. Vertical view of a herd of camels cross the sandy gravels of the Empty Quarter on their way to graze near Wadi Mitan in western Oman. Many of the females having bra-like coverings over their udders to keep their young from nursing until they have returned to camp for milking. Aerial views of Laguna Colorada, which is red due to natural hot springs which provide nutrients for red algae to bloom. The lake has a number of small islets of borax, as well as the largest population of flamingoes of any Altiplano lake. There are three species of flamingoes here: Andean, Chilean, and James. Alain Arnoux flying a motorized paraglider over the Badain Jaran dune field. Dune heights here average 350M, making them, perhaps, the tallest dunes in the world. They are formed by the winds that sweep off the Central Asia Steppes and dump their load of sand as they approach the Tibetan Plateau. The Dune field is 200 kilometers in diameter, but the dune lakes are concentrated in an area 25x50 kilometers. The dune form is similar to an egg-crate, and between the dunes are lakes saltier than sea water that are surrounded by shallow fresh water springs. The lakes are home to a shrinking number of aging Mongolian pastoralists whose goats and camels feed on dune and lake vegetation. The lakes are slowly drying up, and with the rapid modernization of China, the way of life in the dune lakes is disappearing as well. Each lake is surrounded by a thin ring of grass that feeds off fresh water seeping out the base of the dunes. Light rainfall is absorbed by the dunes, slowly percolates downward, and leaks out at the lowest point of the dunes, the lakeshore. When we dream, sometimes we have to remind ourselves that it was only a dream. Our mind create worlds, characters and a life that we can either never wish to see again or can only hope that will return to us somehow. 'It was only a dream' looks at the recurring dreams of strangers, they described their most remembered, unsettling or down right creepy dreams over the internet. The Bunnyman is focusing on a collection of dreams that feature a mysterious figure wearing a bunny mask. Each time he appears he seems closer to the dreamer. With a sudden straight appearance with no speech, sounds or movements he gives off an unwanted welcome each time he comes to the dream. by Alex Mundy In dreams we tend to either not recognise or forget what other people looked like.  Not even public places are safe. Each time he appears, the closer he gets. I fear the time when we will actually meet, I can only hope this day never comes. by Aydan Cinar Back to current issue