I first studied photography at Arizona State University for a year in the seventies. Then, to prepare for retirement, I spent several years taking large format photography classes from Rod Klukas at Scottsdale Community College in Arizona. At the same time I gradually built up my inventory of equipment to include both 8x10 and 4x5 view cameras and a darkroom. For the book, I scanned my negatives into a computer and worked with Adobe Photoshop. I grew up in the center of the area the images in this book were made. I have been staying there and making photographs every summer since 1997.