I was already awake when my alarm went off but it startled me all the same. I’d been awake for a while now, sleep had been elusive since coming to California as I take ages to acclimatise, but this morning was special and my brain had been busy imagining the day ahead. It was 5 am and my body still ached from being in the car for the last two days as we drove from the Bay Area to Death Valley.

My camera bag was at the foot of the bed along with my clothes ready for me to quickly get going. In the room next to mine I could hear the faint movements of life from my neighbour and shooting partner; Sirena. We’d briefly met the night before after she too had driven from San Francisco. She had greeted me in the lobby of the hotel with a massive smile and an enthusiastic hug, any signs of being on the road for eight hours had evaporated.

I found myself in the lobby of a hotel on the outskirts of Salt Lake City in Utah waiting for a chap called Dmitriy, that classic American name, to take me to meet Jenn, the lady who would be the model for our trip. I would later establish that Dmitriy was of Greek origin but born in the Ukraine. I love to travel and I truly enjoy meeting new people, but this was definitely out there, even for me. I was alone in Utah and about to meet two total strangers for a photography tour that specialises in art nude in the desert, how did that happen?