A Drive through Southern Arizona with a 1971 Nikkor-P 180mm Lens in the Passenger Seat

 

 

It is monsoon season in Arizona and driving a 400 km stretch of open desert roads under cloudy and rainy skies provides a unique view of the environment. That is especially true when passing through small towns where a few habitations remain functional along with many others that have been abandoned but keep a nostalgic feel of times that have passed but remain visually tangible to those who drive at high speeds through that space-time moment.

I often have a camera with me and keep a keen eye on what I could encounter, although it is difficult to stop my car when the speed limit is 75 km/hour. Sometimes herds of antelope will be along the road, other times abandoned housing structures along the road where mining towns once thrived. So I favor a short telephoto, always a vintage one, mounted on a vintage film camera.

This time I took my Nikon F3 HP along, with a very early (1971) Nikkor-P 180mm 2.8. Since the skies were covered and the typical desert bright sun absent, I thought a fast lens would be necessary.

The Nikkor is the original Non Ai version that had been professionally Ai’d. Over the past 32 years I have taken memorable photos with this lens worldwide, so it is one of those lenses, although heavy to carry, that has helped me keep special moments through monochromatic renditions.

Here is the lens on the F3:

 

And the Ai ring installed to make it functional on later Nikon cameras other than the original Nikon F:

 

The photo atop this page is was one I had to take. So, I saw the scene while driving through a small town, stopped my car a few hundred meters passed it, and returned to take the photo through the passenger side window. It is both nostalgic and a statement about hanging on to things. Perhaps to an era. Or just to a dream from which one does not want to wake up. And the feeling is captured best in B&W.

 

For this next shot I did not have to return for a photo. I saw this cabin, perhaps as old as the camera and lens I was holding, stand out under the cloudy sky, in the open desert.

 

Interestingly, when I printed the photo, I noticed a detail that I had not seen when taking the shot. A crop of the scanned print revealed an unusual yet charming detail – there was a man’s (woman’s?) bust resting in the sand in front of the cabin.

What was the story of that bust?

In the next photo I wanted to capture the many trailer parks that are along the road. Traveling in a mobile home and stopping at any spot for a short while is a great way to see the country and escape from the busy lifestyle.  Sometimes these “camp grounds” or trailer parks are very well kept; other times they look more casually organized…

 

Finally, when I got to Yuma, the life of a bigger and cosmopolitan city was there to welcome me. I wanted a find a composition where the slow-paced Southwest and busy cosmopolitan livings converged.

Maybe this represents that co-existence.

 

September 5, 2025

©Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2025