Oatman Cowboy. Oatman, AZ. 2008.

Rebel Flag. Oatman, AZ. 2008.

Earth Ship. Oatman, AZ. 2008.

Open Desert. Oatman, AZ. 2008.

I’ve been down in Arizona visiting my family for Christmas for the last few days, and for the most part have not been actively creating.

Just resting.

And it feels good.

Today we visited the mining town of Oatman, Arizona to see the staged gunfights, roaming feral donkeys, hoards of tourists and fantastic shops full of the most ridiculous kitsch.

I brought my Canon 5D with 50mm lens again, since it was so easy to cart around. The whole time while in Oatman I only took a shot here or there if I felt like it.

Though I am on vacation I was able to produce several cool shots without too much mental effort. Obviously the best photo of the day was the photo of the cowboy.

While waiting for the rest of my family to exit the restaurant we were in (a famous one at that, the Oatman Hotel) this photo opportunity just fell into my lap. I saw this cowboy turn for second to light a cigarette, and I snapped a picture. He took a drag and I snapped a second picture, then the cowboy walked away.

As it turns out, the second picture was better where he’s just turned out of the wind after his first drag.

A woman whispered something to me after taking the frame:
“That’s a really nice shot, you got a good shot there, good job.”

She then went outside, stood next to the cowboy and lit up a cigar.

-Kirk

Merry Christmas everyone!

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