I will start off this week with some shots of my home, Maricopa AZ.. Maricopa is quite old as far as towns in the western U.S. go, it was first a Pony Express stop, then a stop on the Butterfield Stage Line to California. Then along came the Union Pacific railroad, and around the first of the 20th century, Maricopa really grew There were two hotels to accommodate tourists to Arizona as there was not, and still is not a track into Phoenix. However, as most western towns meet their fate, most of Maricopa burned down, not to be restored to its former glory. Am Trak still maintains a stop here, the last one before Yuma and then Los Angeles. Southern Arizona is ranching and farming country; Cattle and cotton, and most recently corn is slowly replacing cotton. Today Maricopa, with a population of 48,000, is a bedroom community to the Valley of the Sun, Metro Phoenix, it citizens mainly commuters and retirees. We have quite a large contingent of Canadians who winter here.
Camera: D750, lens Nikkor 50mm 1.4 G
1) California Zephyr passenger car, 1940's. M, 1/500 @ f9.0, 0 ev, iso 200, spot converted to b/w in Topaz
2) WaterTower, a local landmark and tallest structure in town, excluding the casino. M, 1/500 @ f9.0, 0 ev, iso 200, spot, converted to b/w in Topaz
3) Villages ar Rancho El Dorado Recreational Center, the community I live in. M, 1/640 @f11, 0 ev, iso (auto)1250, spot, converted to b/w in Topaz
4) Union Pacific train rumbling through town, Houston to L.A. at the rate of 60+ per day. S, 1/640 @ f2.5, -1/3 ev, iso 200, spot, converted to b/w in Topaz
5) The Headquarters Lounge, oldest watering hole and restaurant in town. Back in the day, John Wayne, the actor, had a large cattle ranch just south of Maricopa, and frequented this bar when in town. The state highway that runs through Maricopa to Phoenix on the north and Interstate 8 on the south is named after him.
A, 1/100 @f 9.0, 0 ev, iso 200, spot