LARRY BLACKWOOD

Let’s Roll
Oro Valley, Arizona
2023

This stage coach was also at the Hilton old west outdoor facility I mentioned yesterday. How old it really is (i.e., did it really run routes way back when), I’m not sure. But except for the newer looking wheels it certainly appears to be vintage. As rickety as the whole thing is, I know if the Hilton were to decide to take folks on a ride in it, they’d be assuming one huge potential liability issue as I don’t see it making it very far before simply collapsing in on itself.

Faux Old
Oro Valley, Arizona
2023

This wall is not as authentically old and antiquated as it looks. It was part of a large old west themed outdoor function area at the Hilton resort near where we were staying.  From this angle though, it view looks pretty convincing (with the exception of the sign on the building in the background). I believe the adobe bricks in the wall were in fact real adobe, and had certainly been aged by weather. The tree shadows on the wall were what drew me to take the photograph. (Both the tree and it’s shadow are 100% authentic of course.)

Sunny Blue
Tucson, Arizona
2023

Nothing special here, just some pleasing sun-dappled colors and a curious door latch.

Quiet Spot
Tucson, Arizona
2023

Going Behind the Scene
Tucson, Arizona
2023

A young woman darts behind a large mural, on her way to work perhaps. Her black coat and pants, and yellow backpack and Vibram sole emblem on the bottom of her boot coordinate nicely with the building colors.

Out of Context #2
Tucson, Arizona
2023

While in general, I thought yesterday’s POTD to be quite “Hopperesque” in feel, I felt it lacked the typical lone person featured in many of Hopper’s paintings. But when I looked closer at the building, I saw this in one of the upper floor windows.

Out of Context
Tucson, Arizona
2023

I was going to call this one “For Ed” but in Arizona, at least among a certain cadre of folks, that would have brought the author and general recalcitrant Edward Abbey (a.k.a. Cactus Ed) to mind. I was thinking here of course of another famous Ed, artist Edward Hopper. I wouldn’t normally think of Hopper while walking around in downtown Tucson because it generally lacks the kind of architecture found in Hopper’s iconic paintings. But this unique building, and the accompanying lighting, brought him to mind immediately.

Urban Terror
Tucson, Arizona
2023

An apparition of mayhem on Tucson’s traditionally wild (although much less so now than in past decades) 4th Avenue.

Aloe Loop
Tucson, Arizona
2023

An aloe plant rather than an agave, but one which fits well with yesterday’s wayward growing agave post.

Agave #3
Tucson, Arizona
2023

It’s easy, I think, for a collection of agave photographs to start feeling redundant. Maybe that’s why I’ve started paying more attention to the less orderly versions of the plant. The sweeping curve of this wayward agave “leaf” give the image a surprising sense of dynamic movement.