Willcox Arizona, January 13 2007.

A sample of a batch. original files, unedited except for shrinking/compression

for uploading. WILLCOX is typical of many western towns. Bare, rough, limited

social amenities. No starbucks. A McDonald's on Motel row by the Interstate. A

surprisingly large hospital to serve the area. I assume the majority of the

population is a mix of Native American/Hispanic. The most common language is

probably Spanish, English next. A lot of Navajo spoken as well, based on

samples heard in the McDonald's. A photographer out here is an oddity. Images

taken on a very cold morning with a biting wind. A long drive from Tucson.

Towns like this are an army enlistment Sergeant's dream as younger people just

want to leave as soon as possible.

http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=716497

Very nice John - A couple of the shots are very reminiscent of "Presidio, Texas" from Stephen Shore's "Uncommon Places". Congrats!

I like Stephen shore's photography and have a couple of his books but must admit that my photo style was well embedded prior to finding out about Steve, who I believe is currently a college photography instructor. And "Presidio, Texas" reflects my outlook on photography quite well. To get the images, its a solitary exercise that requires massive amounts of driving and quite a bit of planning. My picture sets are rarely hit or miss events, but basically the end product of a plan. I'm essentially at the resolution limit of my digital camera, so this year a massive upgrade is required. I have even gone back to Medium Format to get better image sizing for printing. For this format I use a Bronica S2a and have added a Mamiya C33 as well.

Great place for thousands upon thousands of sandhill cranes in January, e.g. at the Wings Over Willcox celebration. http://www.wingsoverwillcox.com/

 

Just FWIW - Not so sure about your demographic assumptions at all. Lots of Anglos about; haven't heard much but English in my limited time there, but obviously there are Spanish speakers there as it is in Southern Arizona. Accommodations include Best Western, Days Inn, and a variety of other U.S. brands. Lots of Apaches in the area historically -- Geronimo and all that -- in the Chiracahua Mountains and nearby Cochise Stronghold. (Click Local Attractions on above link.) Tourist photographers all over the place. Beautiful and unusual rock formations in the local mountains. Great area for birding.

 

A city data site shows population a few years ago at just over 40 percent Hispanic, only about two percent Indian. http://www.city-data.com/city/Willcox-Arizona.html

My personal experience is that Native Populations are badly undercounted in non-reservation areas. Why this is so is beyond me.