valley of fire

Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada

the colorado river

fousts

My sister's family at Saguaro Lake.

az in bloom

centennial

Dang! Meant to post this yesterday for Arizona's Centennial. Oh well. The first two images are from a hike at Fish Creek Canyon, near the Superstition Mountains. The next is a Joshua Tree. The last two images were taken at Willow Springs Lake. Mist was rising off the lake and birds of prey were fishing. Happy 100th, Arizona.

some az

A few shots that I took on Kodak Ektachrome E100VS. This was my first roll of transparency film in medium format. Loving the Ektachrome.

new favorite

Cholla near Massacre Meadows in the Superstition Mountains.

more owen

reavis ranch

Here are an additional handful of photos that I took on the Reavis Ranch trip. The last two are a tarantula and the grave of Elisha Reavis. All taken on Kodak Gold 200 (the cheap stuff).

las vegas

more owen

cowboy

Halloween 2011

bruise

reavis ranch

I had the opportunity to go home over a long weekend and hike to Reavis Ranch with some good friends. Reavis Ranch is deep in the Superstition Mountains. It was once the settlement of an old hermit named Elisha Reavis. When he wasn't fending off indigenous marauders, Reavis cultivated the land and sold his produce in the nearby mining towns. Apple trees populate the little valley where the recluse once settled. The apples are small but sweet, and it seems that we picked the right time for our trip since there were plenty of apples. The hike to the camp site and orchards was a little more physically demanding than I expected - and I also discovered that my own physical conditioning was more pitiful than I anticipated - but it was not the most strenuous hike I've done. It totaled approximately seven miles one way with quite a few switch-backs. Overall, it is a hike that I highly recommend in an area that is both scenic and historic.

expired

Yeah, I know. It's morbid and gross. It started with the bird, which I found in our house upon returning from a vacation. I don't know how it got in while we were away, but it did and it was dead when we returned. Not only did we find the dead bird in our house when we returned, but we also found a dead rat in our yard. It must have washed up with the irrigation or something. Since I had two dead critters to dispose of, I impulsively decided to capture a gruesome photo of each. From there, I decided that I would make a project of dead animals that I found. Why would I want to do that? I don't know that I have an answer. I think part of it was that I felt compelled to depart from always taking photos of nice and pretty things. Some of my favorite photographers (i.e. Irving Penn and Diane Arbus) shot things that weren't so pretty. I suppose I wanted to stray into something different and interesting. I wanted to begin working on actual cohesive projects, and the two dead animals presented an opportunity to start one. This was the result.

The fish and the crawdad I actually caught on a camping trip and ate them, after photographing (and cooking) them first. The elk, cat, and rabbit were roadkill (not my doing). I found the rat and the bird, as previously mentioned. I will likely limit this project to the seven images shown here. That is to say, I probably won't be looking for dead animals anymore, since it may give the impression that I am disturbed or something. Though, if I happen upon something interesting while equipped, I might not be able to help myself.