Flagstaff, Arizona

I loved the cozy, retro interior of the old hotel across the street from the landmark Mission billboard in ye olde downtown Flagstaff, Arizona. I envisioned clouds of smoke lilting gently past the bold stripes and brushed steel of the upper level art deco balcony in the Hotel Monte Vista. Drawn from the cute coffee joint out into the 1920s lobby dragged my all-too-curious eye to the dark saloon that proudly boasted of not having a single customer at that hour. I shared with the bartender how I wanted to photograph every detail in that bar. She thought I was crazy. "What was there to see?", she said, pondering my curiosity and chalking it up to my being a stranger in town.

But then it struck me that being a stranger, the new face, also comes with a few perks. A new face means new vision. New vision means noticing the hidden gems on which locals turn a blind eye. I got to enjoy the subtle textures of the aging red paint, the funky trophies behind the bar, the neon sign 60 feet above the hotel lobby that seemed to flicker with that mosquito-zapper intensity during the height of summer barbeque season. Just stand around and admire the Mission billboard, touch its fading paint chips, and to capture it all on film so I could bring it into my computer and continue to explore the textures I didn't see the first time.

I love new vision--I get to feel like a kid again.