I took these photos on a trip through Colorado, Arizona and Utah in 1992.
I took most of the photos in Mesa Verde, where I photographed with my medium format camera (Rollei SL 66 SE) on Ilford PAN F. Developing the PAN F in Perceptol results in a very fine gradation of grey tones. However, you only have a sensitivity of ISO 25. On the photo hikes over several hours, I had quite a lot to lug around with my camera, 2 lenses and a sturdy Linhof tripod.
In Mesa Verde, I was particularly impressed by the cliff dwellings that the Anasazi had built into the hillside. The settlements are difficult to recognise from the valley. I tried to imagine what life was like in these cliff dwellings. The settlements could only be reached by ladders and if you took a wrong step in the dark, you fell into the abyss. How did the Anasazi organise social life so that children and old people could also live in these settlements? It is not known for certain why the Anasazi abandoned their settlements towards the end of the 13th century. It is assumed that they were forced to leave their settlements and move eastwards and southwards due to a period of drought on the Colorado Plateau that lasted around 30 years.
