SEBASTIAN'S JOSHUA TREE JOURNAL: DAY ONE

I walked out of the meeting in NYC after showing the management team various locations across California. As meetings tend to go, it had been a long-winded debate of pros and cons—endless discussions, no real decisions.

So, I did what any sane Creative Director would do: scrapped them all.

Sat down. Took a breath. Picked up my phone, pulled up a map of California, zoomed in on Joshua Tree, looked at the first three pictures that popped up, and thought, Yep, that’s the place. Sent an email. Done.

Of course, if this didn’t turn out well, it was likely going to be both my first and last shoot. But I had a gut feeling it was the right call.

The journey kicked off in Stockholm, Sweden, with my brilliant art director, Robin Grann, and our photographer, Hannes Söderlund. From there, we set off for Los Angeles, ready to bring the vision to life.

Scouting is key to a successful shoot—right up there with a great model and a clear vision. We decided to go old-school, ditch the digital research, and just drive. No pre-planned routes, no well-trodden tourist spots. We wanted to find our own locations—places with grandeur, scale, and that unmistakable Californian drama.

We caught the sunset at Cholla Cactus Field. It did NOT disappoint. Standing at the top of the hill, looking down at a sea of cacti, the whole thing felt otherworldly. Beyond the rolling hills, the landscape stretched out like something from Mars, vast and surreal, all framed perfectly by the surrounding ridges.

Another crucial part of scouting? Meeting the locals. That’s how we found Françoise Lazard, who runs The Desert General Store in 29 Palms—a gem of a shop filled with local treasures.

She mentioned a spot I couldn’t miss: 29 Palms Inn. Since I was still looking for one more location, that tip was gold. I checked it out on our second scouting day. And, because no trip is complete without a souvenir, I picked up some locally made patches for my M65 jacket. Unlike most of the impulse buys that end up collecting dust in some drawer, these actually made it onto the jacket—proof that the best finds are always the unexpected ones.