Paul Hadley

In 1966, I was born in Barstow, California USA. As soon as I could drive, I began road-tripping alone shooting pictures. One of these drives took me to Death Valley. While steering an isolated highway, listening to the band Rush on cassette, I had this moment of clarity and suddenly knew this was where I needed to live and make the focal point of my photography.

A few weeks later I bought a small trailer to tow behind my car and moved to a ghost town named Death Valley Junction. This began a long affair with the American West and shooting lots of pictures of it.

During my 20’s and 30’s, I continued these photo-ventures and expanded it internationally at every opportunity. I traveled as light as possible with a few cameras and a small bag over my shoulder, so I might blend in better to get the shots I wanted.

I developed a style I began calling “Ambervision” (named after the ’80s sunglasses). By adjusting focal lengths and exposure times in unconventional ways, I was not only able to capture forms and colors, but to liquefy them together, creating a buttery water-colored photo/painting of sorts.

During 1993 thru 2005, I showed collections in Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Salt Lake City galleries. Ambervisions make stunning engaging prints—especially in larger sizes. They quickly became the captivating stars of each exhibit.

On July 11, 2007 this site was launched to showcase selected images from 25 years of shooting. There are over 1,000 photographs and 50 categories in this collection, a truly varied array of subjects with a heavy dose of Americana. There has been no re-touching, cropping or digital manipulation done to any photo in this collection. Each image is shown exactly as captured by the camera.

I am seeking new representation for gallery exhibition. I am also available on a limited basis for commissioned work. Please contact me with requests or any questions directly by phone: (310) 990-2128 or via email at: paulhadley@me.com

I would like to thank Brad at maplemountainstudio.com for his phenomenal web-design and Ron at ronfeinmusic.com for composing the perfect custom music for this website.

Currently, I live between my two homes, one in Pioneertown (located in Southern California’s Mojave Desert, near Joshua Tree National Park) and the other in Orem, Utah.

I’m a Virgo, enjoy air conditioning, huevos rancheros, rental cars, hotel rooms, thrift stores, naturally aged mid-60’s American cars, Brian Eno, Phil Hendrie and the smell of rain in the desert.