Blown Away — Desert Wind vs Naked Men
I’m Terry Hastings, a Palm Springs–based photographer and digital artist. You can view more of my wind series at TheHastingsGallery.com/wind.
This series was one of the first I created after moving to Palm Springs in 2009. The desert landscape immediately drew me in — the sand dunes near the windmills felt like a stage waiting for movement. I brought long lengths of colorful fabric to catch the wind, inspired by a dance sequence from Singin’ in the Rain.
The image you see here captures vivid pink fabric against the muted tones of sand and sky. The contrast is striking, but what matters most to me is the sense of fluidity and freedom. The fabric becomes a performer, lifted by the wind into its own choreography.
I’ve always worked with many colors — I keep tubs of fabric like a painter’s palette. For this shoot, I let the model choose their favorite. That choice made the image more personal, more collaborative. The pink they selected bursts against the desert’s muted palette, defiant and vibrant, almost surreal.
Palm Springs itself is part of the composition. The openness of the dunes, the constant wind, the vast sky — all of it contributes to the feeling of weightlessness. The desert doesn’t just frame the image; it becomes a partner in the performance. The wind is unpredictable, sometimes absent, sometimes overwhelming, but always essential. When it rises, the fabric transforms into something alive, a fleeting sculpture in motion.
That unpredictability is the heart of this series. Each shoot is a negotiation with the elements — a collaboration between dancer, fabric, and desert air. Sometimes the fabric soars, sometimes it collapses, but in every case, it reveals something unexpected. A Study in Gentle Overstatements is about those moments: when color, wind, and chance align to create a gesture that feels larger than life, yet impossibly fragile.
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Almost all the colors I use are vibrant, but I choose ones that will stand out easily. Bold hues create striking contrasts against the desert landscape, bringing a new dimension to the space. Each shoot feels unique depending on which color the model selects; the mood, energy, and visual impact shift with that choice.
I often revisit colors that haven’t worked out, giving them a second chance to shine. Light, wind, and surroundings interact differently each time, and sometimes a shade that once felt tricky suddenly clicks in the right conditions. The wind, however, is completely unpredictable. It can be disheartening to trek out into the desert only to find still air. Yet when everything aligns, the spontaneity is magic.
One of the most surreal moments came when the wind blew straight upward from the ground, sending fabric shooting into the sky. It looked as if gravity had reversed, pulling the model upward. That rare vertical lift created an image of weightlessness I could never have planned. I’d love to capture more of those moments, but the chance of catching that kind of wind is very low.
It helps that I use dancers as models. Their leaps and control inspire the fabric, making it feel like an extension of their expression. Ballet and jazz work best — styles that emphasize elevation and upright jumps. Those mid‑air moments, when dancer and fabric seem suspended together, are some of my most popular pieces. They tap into a dreamlike quality, turning movement into something sculptural.
I once took the fabric to the ocean, hoping for a new dynamic. But the moment the fabric got wet, it became too heavy to fly. Instead of soaring, it clung to the model, grounding the shoot in unexpected ways. Things became more sedentary, more sculptural. It was difficult, but it forced me to think differently about composition — focusing on texture, reflection, and the way fabric wrapped around the body.
That’s the beauty of this series: unpredictability. Whether lifted by desert wind or weighted by ocean water, the fabric transforms with the elements. Each shoot becomes a collaboration between nature, movement, and color — a choreography of chance.
See all the wind pieces at TheHastingsGallery.com/wind
