Photographer Nina Raasch Reminds Us Of “The Beautiful World Waiting Once This Is Over”

‘Listen Through the Lens’ is a visual ode to beauty in the unexpected, with images that maintain a sense of serenity, mystery, and splendour. The photographs were captured all the way from San Francisco down to Joshua Tree, and from the west coast up to the border of Nevada. Embarking on this trip in solitude, Raasch was immediately captivated by California’s varied, beautiful, and melancholic nature. We spoke to her about photographing a different side to California, being confronted by the natural world, and her advice to creatives who are concerned about the future.

“I went on this trip for myself; not wanting to connect with anyone besides my own feelings, thoughts, desires, and fears,” Raasch explains. “Without any real destination, I drove day by day—and to the disappointment of my navigation system, usually off-road and in the other direction,” she laughs. Raasch was positively overwhelmed by the visuals she witnessed, and experienced a constant game of balance in documenting the melancholic, lonely buildings she encountered alongside the state’s stunning natural landforms.