As part of the 20th anniversary of my 2006 world journey, this series explores the photographs I captured along the way — the moments, the places, and the stories behind the images now available on my website or by request.
Arriving Over the Red Desert
There are cities that you ease into, and then there is Las Vegas — a place that announces itself long before you touch the ground.
Our approach into Nevada in June 2006 felt like descending onto another planet. After days of coastal light and urban sprawl in Los Angeles, the landscape suddenly shifted into something ancient, sculptural, and impossibly red. From the aircraft window, the desert unfolded in ridges and folds, a geological tapestry carved by time and heat.
That aerial photograph became my first frame of Las Vegas — a reminder that before the neon, before the spectacle, this place is still rooted in the raw, untamed beauty of the American Southwest. The colours were astonishing: deep rust, ochre, and burnt sienna, all glowing under the desert sun. Even now, it remains one of my favourite arrival shots from the entire eight‑week journey.
Desert Heat and the Luxor Pool
Stepping off the plane felt like stepping into an oven. It was around 40°C (104°F) — the kind of dry, searing heat that wraps around you and refuses to let go. By midday, sightseeing was out of the question. The only sensible place to be was near water, and for me, that meant the pool at the Luxor Hotel.
The Luxor’s pyramid is impressive from any angle, but in that fierce desert sun it felt almost otherworldly — a monolithic structure rising from the sand. I remember running around the pool deck, camera in hand, trying to capture the sharp geometry of the pyramid against the brilliant blue sky before retreating back into the water to cool off.
Midday light is rarely a photographer’s friend, but on that day the harsh sun felt right. It captured the truth of the desert: bright, unforgiving, and absolutely alive.
Inside the Pyramid
The surrealism only deepened once inside. The Luxor’s atrium — one of the largest in the world — rose above me like a hollowed‑out monument. The rooms clung to the sloping walls, stacked in a way that made it seem as though gravity had been politely asked to take the day off.
The photograph I captured inside the atrium still makes me smile — the geometry, the scale, the sheer audacity of the design. It still feels like a glimpse into a dream engineered by architects with a flair for the theatrical.
A Miniature Manhattan on the Strip
Outside on the Strip, Las Vegas leaned fully into its love of illusion. The New York‑New York Hotel & Casino stood proudly in its miniature Manhattan glory — a playful skyline complete with a scaled‑down Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, and the Chrysler Building. And because this is Vegas, a roller coaster wound its way through the façades, looping around skyscrapers as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
The street scene I captured there is pure Las Vegas: taxis, palm trees, neon, and a city that thrives on contradiction.
Atlas in Gold
The final image from this set — the upward view of the Atlas statue at the MGM — is one that has stayed with me for years. Shot from below, the golden figure rises against the sky, mythic and powerful. In a city built on reinvention, this sculpture felt timeless, a moment of stillness amid the chaos.
Looking Back — and Ahead
Las Vegas was our second major stop on this west‑to‑east journey around the world — a journey that began in Los Angeles on 26 June and would eventually carry us across continents before ending in Singapore on 15 August. These images capture the contrasts that defined this first chapter in the desert: the ancient landscape, the blistering heat, the futuristic pyramid, the playful skyline, and the mythic sculpture.
And yet, this is only half the story. There was more to see, more to photograph, and more of Las Vegas to experience — all of which I’ll share in the next post in this series.
Stay tuned for Part Two of Las Vegas, where I’ll dive into another collection of photographs from this unforgettable stop on the journey...
Keywords: Nevada desert aerial, Las Vegas plane landing, Nevada red rock formations, desert landscape photography, aerial desert textures, flying into Las Vegas, Luxor Hotel Las Vegas, Luxor pyramid interior, Las Vegas pyramid hotel, Luxor atrium architecture, New York New York Las Vegas, Las Vegas Strip landmarks, miniature New York skyline Vegas, Statue of Liberty Las Vegas, Empire State Building Las Vegas, Chrysler Building replica Vegas, Las Vegas roller coaster hotel, MGM Grand Atlas statue, Las Vegas sculpture photography, iconic Vegas landmarks, Las Vegas travel photography, Round‑the‑World 2006, USA travel diary, Las Vegas 2006, desert to city contrast
Add comment
Comments