Bisbee

Bisbee is my favorite little town in Southeastern Arizona. Unlike the fake facades of Tombstone, the shops and bistros in Bisbee are authentic, with a distinct European cultural influence, and the town is a photographers playground — there are just so many opportunites for making wonderful images!

Bisbee started as a mining town — copper, gold, silver, and torqoise. The remnants of that era are visible everywhere one looks, from concrete supports for the huge sulferic acid vats for extracting copper ore, to the enormous mounds of discarded red and yellow tailings, to the huge Lavender Pit mine, one of the largest, deepest, and steepest of its kind during its era.

After the Phelps Doge Corporation ceased active mining in the area, due to a declining population and environmental concerns, the town went through a tough time trying to rebrand itself. For a while, it was a hippie and artist haven, hosting those disenfranchised by the gentrification of other artistic communities. It has since evolved into an artistic center that caters to a profitable tourist clientele.

The town was laid-out prior to the advent of the automobile, so the streets are narrow and walkable. The architecture ranges from the art-deco of government offices (Bisbee is the center for Cochise County government), to the Victorian-designed homes that populate the hills surrounding the center of town.

People, shops, homes, mining, architecture, whatever your preferred genre of photography may be, Bisbee is a place that you will definitely want to explore and photograph.