By Colton Cagle, Fatima Gabir & Brianna Lee
From ramshackle ghost towns and creaky haunted hotels to desolate desert scenes and skies aflame with foreboding, the Grand Canyon State is suffused with spooky spectacles. For this year’s Eerie Arizona theme, amateur and semi-professional photographers submitted their most artfully unsettling images. The 12 finalists will take you on a magical mystery tour of Southwest oddities.
Nick Mangold
“Vulture Mine”
“I grew up in the South and appreciate the decaying and dilapidated,” says Nick Mangold, a seasoned photographer of 20 years who is currently traveling the country by RV. Using a Nikon D40X with a kit lens and edited with DxO software, his work reflects a deep connection to his roots and appreciation for the beauty of his ever-changing environs. In this photo of a rustic, neglected building at the old Vulture Mine site, he captures the eerie charm of Arizona, reminiscent of the ghost towns scattered across the state. Reflecting on his process, Mangold says, “Photography is the art of seeing the beauty in your immediate surroundings and maximizing emotional depth visually.” He fondly remembers Arizona and its stunning landscapes.
Andrei Stoica
“Pac-Man Sunset”
Chandler software engineer and semi-professional photographer Andrei Stoica took this dramatic photo on a Canon EOS in 2020 during the monsoon season. The smoke from summer wildfires drifted over the Phoenix metro area, creating a strange light akin to a partial solar eclipse. The sun became a “red-orange ball of fire in the low sky,” he says. “The photo made me think of a giant Pac-Man with an open mouth, ready to take another gulp of gray sky.” Stoica views it as a metaphor for our progressively hotter summers and the toll they’re taking on the desert. “Just like in the [arcade] game, the goal is to devour it all,” he says. “But despite its uphill battle with droughts and frequent wildfires, the desert continues to impress through its resiliency, if sometimes in apocalyptic ways.” arizonaphotoadventures.com
Lucinda Guarderas
“Head of My Enemy”
Phoenix insurance professional and artistic photographer Lucinda Guarderas captures a chilling desert scene in this photo taken near the Beeline Highway in Payson. This striking image features a saguaro skeleton that appears to be holding a head – perhaps that of its enemy? “My goal was to make the saguaro look as menacing as possible, so I shot from a low angle and got in real close,” Guarderas says. Favoring dark undertones, Guarderas used a Wista VX 4×5 technical camera to create this sinister masterpiece. Find more of her film photography at lucindaguarderas.com or on Instagram @lucindaguarderas.
Gary Rustad
“The Black Moods Day of the Dead”
Defense technology manufacturer Gary Rustad discovered his passion for photography through a middle school assignment requiring him to take pictures of nature. Now residing in Leesburg, Virginia, after moving from Mesa, Rustad enjoys photographing concerts and capturing dynamic contrasts between light and dark. This photo, taken with an iPhone 8 Plus at a Black Moods concert in Scottsdale, features the band in skull makeup for Día de los Muertos in 2019. “The energy was electrifying,” he recollects. “Concerts have great moments, and you need to be ready because they pass by so quickly.” More of his work can be found on Instagram @gary.rustad.
Doris Evans
“Tarantula Sunset”
Doris Evans got her first camera when she was 12 years old and has been taking pictures as a hobby since. So, it wasn’t out of character for her to be toting her Canon G12 on a stroll near her Tucson home during the monsoon season a few years ago. “I was taking an early evening walk around my neighborhood and, as I began my walk, I saw this beautiful tarantula crossing my cul-de-sac,” she says. “I bent down holding the camera right at street level and snapped a few photos as the tarantula walked in my direction.” She realized later that her quick snap was more artful – and foreboding – than she’d initially thought. “It wasn’t until I got home and looked at the photo on my computer screen [that I realized] that besides the tarantula, I had also captured a bit of sunset.” Find her images on Flickr @dorisevans.
A.O. Tucker
“Luhrs Castle”
When photographer A.O. Tucker sets up a shot, his goal is to make his audience say, “Wow!” The Litchfield Park art curator did just that with “Luhrs Castle,” his moody study of the 14-story Art Deco landmark Luhrs Tower. Tucker created the image in 2014 while looking for photo opportunities in Downtown Phoenix using his Sony A77v. He was drawn to the building’s dramatic appearance. “It was the age and architecture of the building,” he says. “I would say it’s the choice of black and white, the angles and the clouds [that give it an eerie feel].” His work isn’t always eerie, but he enjoyed dipping into that realm. “[Photography] can be technical [or] artistic,” he says. It’s “rarely boring, fun and cannot be mastered.” aotucker.com
Saunders Staley
“Intersect”
Phoenix resident Saunders Staley, who once pursued professional snowboarding, has been capturing images for 29 years. He started processing film in high school and now owns Flying Robot, a top aerial cinematography and photography provider. Staley’s passion for photography lies in its ability to blend technical skill with creative expression. “I love macro, long-exposure painting with light/astrophotography,” he says of his specialization. For this photo, he used a Canon EOS R5 with a RF15mm-35mm lens and a DJI Mavic 3 drone to create a circle of light around the Red Rock Water Tower in Pinal County. While setting up the shot before dusk, Saunders thought, “I hope no rattlesnakes are coming in hot.” See more of his immersive photography by visiting flyingrobot.io or following him on Instagram @fraerials.
David Sivils
“The Watchers”
A retiree and avid amateur photographer from Sedona, David Sivlis has been interested in photography since high school. He took this ghoulish nature photo using a Nikon Z5 camera. “We were driving on US 89 North and happened to catch a glimpse of something unusual on the east side of the highway… We stopped and there they were,” Sivils says of the lanky spirit totems with spooky markings reminicent of a Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away) film. “All the while wondering what exactly they represent, who put them there?” Shooting the rocky figures transformed them in Sivils’s mind. “They are eerie [and] kind of spooky, but they are here to keep watch over you and keep you safe on your journey.” Find his images on Flickr @unrgeo.
Sherry Sivils
“Creepin’ It Real”
Memories of Tombstone have haunted Sherry Sivils for decades. “I traveled there with my parents when I was 8, and I always wanted to go back,” the retired interior designer says. “I had vivid memories of spooky Boothill cemetery [Boothill Graveyard] – so much history.” When she revisited as an adult, she was just as entranced by its sparse beauty and undercurrent of danger. “When I shot this scene, I just imagined the battles of the O.K. Corral and what the streets must have looked like… the fear of the townspeople.” The Sedona resident immortalized this creepy graveyard scene with her iPhone 14 Pro. Find more of her work on Instagram @rockgirl_53.
Jeffrey Luth
“Spooky”
After living in Scottsdale for 20 years, Jeffrey Luth, a résumé development specialist, moved back to his native Massachusetts in 2021. His love for photography blossomed while he was living in Arizona, inspired by its landscapes and wildlife. Luth recalls visiting the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess resort’s Christmas at the Princess holiday light festival, where he captured this snowman from a more intriguing angle – “floodlit from below, creating an ominous presence. It basically asked me to take its picture,” he says. Using a Canon EOS 6D with a 35mm lens at F4 for 1/6 second, he transformed a festive scene into an unnerving image. Discover more of his creativity by visiting luthphoto.com/jeff-luth or @luthphotography on Instagram.
Candace Porth
“Desert Decay I”
She may not be a professional photographer, but Candace Porth does have a bachelor’s degree in photo studies from Arizona State University. The retired Phoenician enjoys taking pictures of wildlife and nature, but she wasn’t prepared for the scene she came upon when driving back home from Gillespie Dam, between Buckeye and Gila Bend. “Apparently my directions were not very good, because we turned onto a rough dirt road into some farmland… we wanted to turn around, and we came upon a clearing and this is what we saw,” she says of the animal carcass and myriad other animal bones scattered around, which inspired her to break out her Nikon D7100. “It was a little shocking, but there was a certain beauty to the whole scene with the late afternoon sunlight and shadows, and I wanted to document it.” Find her images on Flickr @maccandace.
THE WINNER!
Emily Edens Calihan
“I Saw Her Standing There”
Phoenix hiking enthusiast Emily Edens Calihan captures the serene beauty of the Grand Canyon in this spectral shot. Taken during her 20th hike on the South Kaibab Trail last summer, the photo features a stunning century plant (also known as agave americana, maguey or American aloe) illuminated by the sunrise. “The agave bloom was gorgeous against the Grand Canyon landscape at dawn’s early light,” she recalls. A lifelong photography enthusiast, Edens Calihan enjoys documenting nature, especially in her native Southwest. Using an iPhone 14 Pro to capture and Snapseed to edit, she transformed the image into a captivating black-and-white composition.
HOW WE PICKED THE WINNER
From more than 100 submissions, our editors picked the 12 entries that best evinced the Eerie Arizona theme. Those dozen photos were then posted online for a two-week public vote.
