I first discovered Wupatki National Monument and its complex of ruins back in the early 1980's. I had recently moved to Arizona from Wisconsin – more because of the adventure, living in such a wild and beautiful place, than because of its world famous weather. (Though you can't beat sunshine and 70° in mid-January.)

Scouting locations on an ad campaign for the Arizona Lottery provided me the opportunity to play the part of a footloose tourist, driving the state shooting the "best of" – places and landscapes – for the series of television commercials.


As I tend to work for directors and other photographers that most want to shoot a site during "magic hour", sunrise or sunset, I arranged to visit Wupatki one very early October morning.

Wukoki was the first set of ruins I came upon driving up from Sunset Crater. The new sun was just breaching the horizon...
Wukoki Ruins sits atop a tiny hill that rises out of the Painted Desert. The south and east walls of its tower keep were glowing the most intense color orange. One could almost sense a sort of energy radiating from the deep red sandstone, rekindled by the sun's first light. I imagined how these ancient sandstone "castles", almost all built on the crest of a hill or the edge of small canyons, were like a beacon to the ancient traveler navigating cross this great arid expanse, from one outpost to the next.