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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Four: Finding meaning in details > Hackberry General Store, Hackberry, Arizona, 2009
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14-APR-2009

Hackberry General Store, Hackberry, Arizona, 2009

The silver mining town of Hackberry, dating back to 1874, is the oldest town along historic Route 66 in Northern Arizona. Its mine closed in 1919, and today its most notable structure is the Hackberry General Store, which is virtual museum both inside and out. In this wideangle image, I pull together some of the quirky details that give this place its character. The gas pumps are antiques, and the vending machines look almost as old. I balance the red Mobil horse on the roof with the prow of a red Corvette outside of its front door.

Leica D-Lux 4
1/1000s f/6.3 at 10.2mm iso80 hide exif
Full EXIF Info
Date/Time14-Apr-2009 15:22:28
MakeLeica
ModelD-LUX 4
Flash UsedNo
Focal Length10.2 mm
Exposure Time1/1000 sec
Aperturef/6.3
ISO Equivalent80
Exposure Bias-0.66
White Balance
Metering Modemulti spot (3)
JPEG Quality
Exposure Programprogram (2)
Focus Distance

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Phil Douglis15-Feb-2010 21:12
Yes, Kerry, the place was great. However the challenge is always how to make the most of it's character. In this case, its meaning comes to us through its detail. And so my task came down to finding details that worked well together.
Kerry Tingley15-Feb-2010 15:45
I love places like this. A fine capture!
Phil Douglis16-Aug-2009 20:35
Thanks, Celia -- we spent an hour or so at this store. It is a visual treasure, a trip back into time. You are right -- the seems descriptive on the surface, but the story here is in the expressive details. And yes, I did build the image around the red "anchors" found in the Winged Horse (Mobil) and the Corvette (Chevrolet), using the store itself as a canvas -- a layer of aging detail. The Route 66 shields on the old pumps, as well as on the store's sign, give the image its sense of place. Route 66 was all about the motorization of America, and it's all here in this image.
Cecilia Lim16-Aug-2009 17:47
Wow! I missed this town during my explorations of Route 66 in April this year. What a wonderful place this must have been to shoot!

At first glance, this looks like a purely descriptive photo, but there's so much detail and content that a viewer could come back to this many times and find something different to appreciate each time! I like your crop on the corvette too because it doesn't give everything away, and yet it does anchor the reds in the image together. It's a clever connection because a corvette, a fast sportscar, can really "fly" (in terms of speed) just like the winged horse. What I appreciate is also the juxtaposition of the layer of trees in the back with the general store. Route 66 pretty much conquered the wilderness of America and brought the presence of man into the landscape. We are reminded of the significant presence of man and the things he made and brought to the wilderness in order to survive. A truely lovely and telling portrait of Hackberry General Store!
Phil Douglis21-Apr-2009 22:52
I am sure he has all RC cola and moon pie in stock -- he has eveything else. There is even a lab sleeping on a couch in there. And Tim made extensive visual studies of the decor in the men's room.
sunlightpix21-Apr-2009 21:22
This is classic Route 66! I love the corrugated metal wall, vending machines and antique gas pumps. The kinda place where you could get RC cola and moon pies.
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