This week, the Lens-Artists team welcomes Joanne of Joanne Mason Photography to guest-host the challenge. She writes, “Share with us photographs of places/people/things that you find uniquely inspiring – or photographs themselves that you are proud of – Simply stated, photographs everyone should see.” You can read her entire challenge post here.

For my response, I’ll start with some natural scenes and events, then dive into the unusual or coincidental. First up, Lynn and I spent over a dozen winters in Buckeye, Arizona. Just a few miles from our house, the White Tank Mountains were an ever-present joy to see. The mountains, on the western edge of the Phoenix metro, rise to over 4,000 feet (1,219 m), towering over the lower metro areas. Given the warm climate in the Sonoran Desert around Phoenix, we never saw any snow on the mountains — until February 22, 2019. Snow fell on the White Tanks, and even in lower parts of the metro, such as Scottsdale and Peoria, at an elevation of 1,000 feet (300 m). The record-breaking cold air was designated a Major Winter Storm by the National Weather Service. For us, it brought a unique view of the White Tank Mountains we’d never seen before or since.

On our trips back and forth to Buckeye, we often traveled I-40 between Flagstaff and Albuquerque. Every time we passed the signs pointing to the Meteor Crater, we thought, “Some day, we’ll stop.” In December 2021, we made the 6-mile (9.6 km) detour at exit 233. Gemini AI gave me some facts and figures to share about the phenomenon. “Meteor Crater, also known as the Barringer Crater, is a dramatic impact site located about 37 miles (59 km) east of Flagstaff, Arizona. Measuring roughly 3,900 feet (1,200 m) across and 560 feet (170 m) deep, it was formed around 50,000 years ago when a 160-foot (50-m) nickel-iron meteorite struck the Earth at nearly 29,000 miles per hour. The explosion released energy equivalent to 10 megatons of TNT, scattering fragments—now known as Canyon Diablo meteorites—across the desert.”

In March 2023, we flew to Rio de Janeiro to board a cruise ship for a transatlantic journey to Barcelona, Spain. Arriving early gave us time to explore some of Rio’s iconic sights. One of the most famous is the statue of Christ the Redeemer, perched atop Corcovado Mountain and overlooking the city. While most photos capture the statue from below—either directly beneath it or from vantage points across the city—this image offers a less photographed perspective from the base of the monument, looking out over Rio. At the left edge of the photo is Botafogo Beach, and rising from the adjacent Urca peninsula is the distinctive, football-shaped Sugarloaf Mountain. Near the right edge lies the sweeping curve of Copacabana Beach, with the vibrant Copacabana neighborhood stretching inland beneath it.

This second image, taken from the same vantage point using a telephoto lens, draws the eye toward Rio’s South Zone—home to some of the city’s most iconic neighborhoods and beaches. Sugarloaf Mountain dominates the center, flanked by the shimmering waters of Guanabara Bay, one of the largest bays in the world. The crowded cityscape reveals how colonial buildings, high-rises, and hillside communities coexist side by side. The view presents a striking contrast between Rio’s urban sprawl and its dramatic natural surroundings.

On one of our cruises, we took a behind-the-scenes tour of the ship. As we passed through the large ship’s laundry, many crew members were hard at work. Our mid-morning journey past the as-yet-unwashed linens seemed monumental. Still, we were assured that the combination of automated laundry equipment and human interaction would ensure that the daily wash was cleaned, dried, and folded before the next day’s workload began.

Tucked away in Maricopa, Arizona, the Dwarf Car Museum is a one-of-a-kind tribute to craftsmanship, creativity, and automotive nostalgia. The museum showcases handmade, fully functional miniature replicas of classic cars—each handbuilt from scratch and scaled to 11/16. In January 2018, Lynn and I joined my sister and her friend for a tour of the museum that offers a quirky glimpse into a lifelong passion for engineering and Americana.

In February 2016, we visited Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., and saw the President’s Box—draped in flags and framed by a portrait of George Washington—just as it appeared on the night of April 14, 1865. From this balcony, Abraham Lincoln watched Our American Cousin before he was fatally shot by John Wilkes Booth. Preserved as a memorial, the booth remains a powerful reminder of a moment that changed the course of American history. It felt fitting to edit the scene in black and white, echoing how it might have been captured in Lincoln’s time.

In March 2018, we attended a pre-season exhibition baseball game in Goodyear, Arizona. To our surprise, the Budweiser Clydesdales were being unloaded from their trucks and hitched to the iconic red beer wagon for a ceremonial lap around the ballpark grounds. We watched as the team came together one horse at a time. I was struck by how close spectators were allowed to get—snapping photos and admiring the horses up close, though touching them was strictly off-limits. At this moment, seven of the eight horses stood ready, waiting for the left lead to be hitched.

In April 2019, our cruise ship glided through the Panama Canal, and I spotted this Caterpillar motor grader parked high on a bluff near the water’s edge. Naturally, I grabbed my camera—because who doesn’t love a good juxtaposition of tropical foliage and industrial grit? Little did I know that the operator inside the cab was just as intrigued by us as we were by him.

It wasn’t until I reviewed the photos back home that I noticed the best detail of all: the operator was photographing the cruise ship with his phone at the exact same moment I was photographing him. A perfect Panama Canal standoff—camera vs. camera, curiosity vs. curiosity. I guess we both thought, “Everyone should see this.“

That’s the collection for my response to Joanne’s challenge. I really enjoyed finding photos to share, focusing on ones I had never shared before for this challenge. 2K HD versions and metadata can be found on my Flickr album here. The biggest challenge for me was in excluding so many images that I thought everyone should see. Many thanks to Joanne for volunteering to guest-host. Last week, Tina challenged us with City Mouse/Country Mouse. Next week, I will be hosting the Lens-Artists Challenge; the post is already scheduled to publish automatically at noon Eastern Time on Saturday. If you’d like to join in the response to the Lens-Artists Challenges, you can find the details here.

John Steiner