Cave Creek, AZ

Cave Creek is a small town in Arizona, located in the Sonoran Desert, on the northern border of Scottsdale, 27 miles (45 km) northeast of Phoenix. It’s proud of it’s western heritage and has a very “old west” look and character. Cave Creek, established as a gold mining town and stopping point for the U.S. Cavalry in the mid 1870s, is not like most other towns.   While most of the buildings built in the 1800s are probably gone, many that are standing have been there longer than anyone can remember and are reminiscent of what things looked like in the Wild West so long ago.  Cave Creek’s unique, western flair makes it very popular with tourists, boasting good shopping, great restaurants and a vibrant night life to accommodate its many visitors.

It’s pretty interesting for photographers as well, and I’ve visited there often. Last evening, I chose to see how it photographed at night and spent some time in search of interesting subjects. Following are a few of the pictures  I took.

This first shot features typical, commercial architecture. This shop offers western garb for residents and of course, visitors who wish to get into the local spirit. It’s a first stop for guests planning to take in a rodeo or spend an evening partying at one of Cave Creek’s many watering holes.

El Encanto is a popular Mexican restaurant. It offers a large courtyard, where patrons can enjoy warm evenings for al fresco dining most of the year.

Big Earl’s Greasy Eats has become a landmark in Cave Creek. It’s located in the heart of the town and started out as a gas station. In 2002, it became the home of the “The last honest hamburger”, to quote it’s owner.

Candles and Gifts is one of the many gift and novelty shops located in the Frontier Town shopping area.

One last picture from the Frontier Town area of Cave Creek.

Night photography is pretty straightforward, with a couple of unique challenges. It can be difficult to auto-focus in very dark areas. The infra-red beams used to focus simply won’t reflect from very shady areas. It becomes necessary to focus manually or use a flashlight to illuminate the area where you wish to direct the auto-focus beams. I find it very helpful to carry a flashlight for a variety of reasons. It can be difficult to see what you’re doing otherwise.

The most difficult challenge is to get the colour tone (or white balance) correct, particularly with mercury vapour, sodium vapour or fluorescent lighting in the area. The light emitted by these sources varies considerably from very “warm” (sodium vapour) to very “cool” (mercury vapour, fluorescent). The tone of the light affects the colour of the subject of the photograph. You can see that in the “Cave Creek Cowboy Co.” and “The Gallery” photographs. The camera’s auto white balance simply didn’t produce the desired result. I did adjust the white balance manually in Lightroom but I’m not totally satisfied with the outcome. It simply doesn’t correspond well with what I was seeing.