Samantha+Tim // Tombstone, Arizona

If this pretty lady looks familiar to any of you, it’s because she’s Geoff’s sister and his entire family looks alike. Sam and Geoff’s parents moved to Tucson, Arizona a few years ago from Pittsburgh, PA and they’ve been retired down there in a dry heat luxury for a couple of years now, watching birds and golfing and living it up in their giant community pool. They bought a new house this year in Oro Valley, so all the kids decided to go visit them for Thanksgiving and to go check out the new weird mall. But since Arizona is so different from us in terms of landscapes, I asked Sam and her husband Tim to do a session with us because I felt like shooting somewhere new and because photographing people with a lot of tattoos is fun. Sam requested Tombstone because it’s a weird old western town with old timey buildings, a history of cowbody shoot-outs, and an impossibility to tell who’s actively participating in a reenactment vs. who just lives there. So off we went, and a strange drive past border security and a quick trip into a bar later, we took pictures of Sam and Tim. Tim has an endearingly strong aversion to having his photo taken so we only make him do this once every five years or so… so rest up Tim, you have four more years until the next batch! WHAT DO YOU WANT ON YOUR TOMBSTONE?!