In September 1977, I made my first trip to Canyon de Chelly. I had been building a business as a freelance photographer in Arizona for five years and decided it was time to expand my practice to include landscape photography. After all, Arizona Highways magazine glorified the state’s scenic wonders, and I somewhat arrogantly thought I should give it a shot (pun intended).
So here I was, standing on the rim of Canyon de Chelly on a chilly morning, setting up to photograph the canyon at sunrise. But I wasn’t the only photographer with the same idea. A few yards from me, an older gentleman was adjusting his 4×5 camera and watching as the sun illuminated the canyon below. I recognized that it was Joseph Muench, one of the premier photographers whose work I had studied in the pages of Arizona Highways. At the time, he was 77 years old. His first photograph of Rainbow Bridge was published in 1938, six years before I was born.
After we had both finished shooting, we chatted for a few minutes and then went our separate ways. What I remember most was thinking that I hoped I would still be out there with my camera shooting the sunrise when I was his age. Well, here I am at 80, still trying to illustrate the beauty of the natural world with my camera.
As I considered photographs for the 2025 US Route 89 calendar, I remembered my meeting with Joseph Muench. I decided to revisit 20 years of my adventures along the highway. I reviewed over 15,000 images, both film and digital, and found some gems that I had overlooked in my initial review. I narrowed the selection to the 14 photographs presented in the gallery below.
When open, the format is 10.75 x 16.5 inches, with holidays and significant observances noted. Thus, there is plenty of space to note your important events.
The price is $15 plus shipping. Order your calendar from the printer, Magcloud, where you can use a credit/debit card to complete your purchase. Proceeds from calendar sales will help support the US Route 89 website, benefiting the many small businesses along the highway. Take a look at your holiday gift list and consider ordering several calendars. For orders of 10 or more, a discount of 10% applies.
