In December of my first semester as a photography MFA student at ASU, I drove into Globe, after dark, with a failed alternator. I was met, repeatedly, with unusual generosity. This led me to begin a series of portraits and landscapes in Miami-Globe, northeast of Phoenix.

Miami and Globe were built on mineral wealth; silver, copper and gold. Mining and ranching have persisted since the 1860s; both land based economies. Cattle graze on mine land; ranchers may work additionally for the mines.

I began to photograph three extended families:
four generations of ranchers, a single father mechanic and his sons, who are also stock car and go kart racers, and the pastor and parishioners of a small Southern Baptist church, on the outskirts of Globe. They came to represent the history and resilience of their communities.

People, land, and sky: our connections, here, are more visible.

This project is ongoing. I’m continuing to photograph, lengthening and focusing the view.