Lights, Camera.......and a Gravesite

Lights, Camera.....and a Gravesite

Camels have played such an important role in Arabian culture that there are over 160 words for 'camel' in the Arabic language.  In my part of the world, I am only aware of 1 word to describe an even toed ungulate bearing distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps: on its back.  As we rounded the first turn up Redington Pass Road, heading away from the lights and sounds of Tucson, Arizona Eric made reference to a possible camel sighting amid the cactus studded territory.  Sure enough, there stood a camel, in someone's yard.  

A great and a truly unique start to our little photo back road adventure.  I could have used a little movement from our humped friend, but will have to settle for a photo featuring his or her back quarters.  

Within the next couple of turns we encountered a gigantic rattle snake, a riveting golden sunset and a stunning backdrop opposite the fiery sky.  A panorama featuring our dirt road, weaving its way across the rolling landscape, set against a beautiful sky, lay before us.  The photographer side of us was in high gear.  Fortunately or unfortunately, the jeep was not in a higher gear as darkness settled in.

We had a late start so we knew that the lengthy journey from Tucson to San Manual and then to our home in Catalina would roll us into the late evening and a switch to photo's in the darkness.

Now shrouded in thick darkness, we pulled over to ‘experiment’ with our arsenal of camera’s, tripods, lenses, and a dose of creativity to blend it all together.  As Eric was setting up a tripod I explored our patch of Arizona back road.  Not much to explore, with a tiny headlight in hand, shooting a beam that was illuminating almost nothing, other than rocks and dirt within a few strides off of the dirt track.  I was rather surprised as my paltry beam resonated off of something that was not a rock or plant.   

About 30 feet down the hillside was a small cross, paying honor to Steven 1986-2010.  The chance of randomly finding a miniature cross, 30 feet down a hillside, in the dark, along a lengthy dirt road, is a little more than my mind can comprehend, so I won't kill any brain cells trying to wrap my mind around those odds.

A google session would lead me to a site called 'find a grave'.  Steven Everett Burrows was born in Fort Collins, Colorado and moved to Tucson when he was two.  He died in a rollover accident in Redington Pass.  It was noted that he was doing one of the things he loved best.

Steven Everett Burrows shrine/gravesite

Steven Everett Burrows - 1986-2010

A little light play near the gravesite