The Story Behind The Image; Skulls And Wagon Wheels

Skulls and Wagon Wheels, Tombstone, Arizona (click to enlarge)
Nikon D70, 18-70mm f/3.5-5.6 lens @ 18mm; 1/40th sec. @ f/3.5; ISO 400

This image is one of those that, if I hadn't taken a slight risk, I wouldn't have been able to make.  Let me explain.

My wife and I were on a road trip that we centered around Tucson, Arizona.  "Centered," in this sense, means we traveled to Tucson, checked into a hotel and then explored the area for a week.  Each morning we would set out in a different direction to wander and discover as well as see some things we knew were in the area.  It was a pleasant week as, once in a while, it is nice to have a base to which to return each night instead of constantly being on the move from hotel to hotel.  Personally, I think a small motor home would be a nice addition to our travels, but so far I've not got a lot of cooperation from the spousal unit.  But I digress...

One day, we drove east and south to Tombstone, Arizona.  Yes, the famous Tombstone.  I had no preconceptions of the town but I found out a few interesting things.  First, the famous Boot Hill cemetery where many an outlaw is buried, is not on a hill but actually downhill from the town, not on a hill.  Go figure?  Second, the old town has been somewhat recreated, more than preserved, with wooden sidewalks and buildings that look I supposed similar as they would have over 100 years ago when the famous Gunfight at the OK Corral took place.  You know the one—the Earp brothers having a showdown with the Clanton brothers and their friends.  In the streets of the town, period reenactors and shows are put on.  Old stage coaches take tourists around the town.  Riders of horses stroll up and down the main street.  In other words, Tombstone is fully a tourist destination.

As far as the Gunfight at the OK Corral goes, they reenact it regularly but it is behind a tall fence and one has to pay to see the reenactment.  I passed as I've seen plenty of reenactments in movies I watched.

More to my wife's liking are the shops.  Typical tourist shops with lots of Tombstone memorabilia as well as clothing, jewelry, things to decorate a home if American Western motif is your style.  Lots of places to spend money.  Not really my interest.

One of the shops in which my wife was shopping (and I was tagging along) was of no interest to me whatsoever.  However, as I wandered around the shop, I saw a doorway in the rear.  The door had windows.  I casually looked in and saw that it was the storage area for stock that was on display out front.  The kind of place that is for employees and presumably, not for the general public.

As I looked in, I spotted the skulls and wagon wheels along one wall and immediately thought THAT would make an interesting image.  Hmmm.  Back room.  No sign that says "Do Not Enter" or "Employees Only."  I wonder if I moseyed on back there and quickly made an exposure or two I would get into trouble?  Well, I just couldn't pass it up.  I had no ill will, malice or larceny in my thoughts so I opened the door, quickly moved along the opposite wall, zoomed out my lens (wish I would have had something wider than 28mm equivalent) and make a couple of exposures.  The light was not bright at all and coming from the left, which opened to the alley behind the building.  It took a bit of work during editing to make the light look even across the image.  The left side was very bright and the right side was very dark.  Also, I wished I could have used a smaller aperture to ensure adequate depth of field.  But I made the best compromises I could with the gear and conditions at the time.  It was 2006 and the D70 was my main camera at the time and cranking up the ISO was not really an option, as far as I was concerned.

I quickly left the back room with a smirk on my face knowing that I pretty much made the image I wanted to make.  I returned up front without being chastised, arrested, scolded or reprimanded or admonished!  No problems.

Being a law enforcement officer for over 30 years I have a deep respect for the law and rules.  I have a strong tendency to always do the right thing and, believe it or not, I felt twangs of guilt for going into the back room and making this image.  But that is just me. My slogan to my officers as a chief of police was to "Always do the right things for the right reasons."  That is how I try to live my life.

Over the years I passed up many a potential good photograph because getting into the right position for the best composition would have caused me to trespass, break the directions by a property owner on some sort of posted sign or otherwise do something contrary to law.  I would rather not get the image than to get it the wrong way.

As far as the image at the top of this post is concerned, if there were a sign prohibiting entry, I would have clearly passed it by.  But there wasn't any indication that I couldn't go into the back room, so I took a slight risk and did.  I've always like this image and am glad I made it.

Thanks for looking. Enjoy! 

Dennis A. Mook 

All content on this blog is © 2013-2017 Dennis A. Mook. All Rights Reserved. Feel free to point to this blog from your website with full attribution. Permission may be granted for commercial use. Please contact Mr. Mook to discuss permission to reproduce the blog posts and/or images.