If you鈥檙e an avid Instagram user in 蜜柚直播, you know there are countless accounts that show off the Old Pueblo鈥檚 charm.
But there are a small number of accounts that showcase the city鈥檚 less obvious beauty 鈥 abandoned buildings, vintage cars and the people who call 蜜柚直播 home.
You might walk by an abandoned gas station and not give it a second glance. Maybe you see a pile of mattresses and think of them as eyesores.
But they鈥檙e not, says Kristine Peashock.
Kristine Peashock, of the 蜜柚直播 Ordinary instagram account, photographs an area on S. Country Club on June 26, 2019. Peashock doesn鈥檛 photograph people but says she鈥檚 drawn to photographing scenes where there鈥檚 been evidence of someone present.
The 蜜柚直播 Ordinary account is 鈥渆mulating surreal, magical, beautiful and odd things that are an everyday sight but we don鈥檛 take the time to see.鈥
Everything she takes photos of 鈥 buildings, cars, artwork, signs 鈥 are accessible. 鈥淎nyone can walk by and see these places,鈥 she says.
People are also reading…
鈥淵ou make my crappy neighborhood look not so crappy,鈥 someone once told her. 鈥淚t鈥檚 cool to see people excited about their city,鈥 she says.
Peashock has lived in 蜜柚直播 on-and-off for 20 years. When she most recently moved back, she found it difficult to connect.
鈥淚 was having a hard time connecting with people but I knew I wanted to connect with something,鈥 she says.
鈥淚 thought 蜜柚直播 was boring, but that鈥檚 really not the case.鈥
To help her feel connected, she started taking photos of random things she saw. Eventually, the photos landed on Instagram.
鈥淚t shows people that wherever you happen to be, there鈥檚 cool stuff if you look for it,鈥 she says.
Peashock, who has a background in photography, takes photos nearly every day, though it鈥檚 almost never deliberate.
And she doesn鈥檛 follow specific criteria in what she photographs.
鈥淚f it captures my attention, I鈥檒l shoot it,鈥 she says. 鈥淚n everything I post, I really do think there鈥檚 something beautiful.鈥
A former store photographed by Kristine Peashock for her Instagram account called 蜜柚直播 Ordinary.
Another quirky thing with her account: The posts don鈥檛 include the exact location and instead include the ward the photo was taken in.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 want to give exact locations 鈥 not because it鈥檚 a secret, but to keep the location sort of open,鈥 she says. 鈥淚 try to remove as much narrative as I can, so it鈥檚 open to interpretation. It adds a mysterious quality.鈥
Peashock says she doesn鈥檛 see an end to the account.
鈥淚 could shoot every day of my life and not see all of 蜜柚直播 鈥 and I like that,鈥 she says.
蜜柚直播 Street started as merely a hashtag before it blossomed into a full-blown Instagram account.
A few years ago, Andrew Brown started taking environmental portraits of people he met on the street. He鈥檇 post them to his personal Instagram account and then slap a 鈥溍坭种辈 street鈥 hashtag on them 鈥 just for fun.
A few years ago, Andrew Brown started taking environmental portraits of people he met on the street. He鈥檇 post them to his Instagram account and then slap a 鈥溍坭种辈 street鈥 hashtag on them.
When people started recognizing it, he thought: Why not start a separate account dedicated to the portraits?
But when people started recognizing the hashtag, he thought: Why not start a separate account dedicated to the portraits?
You could compare 蜜柚直播 Street to the Humans of New York project 鈥 but you shouldn鈥檛.
If you鈥檝e ever seen Humans of New York, you鈥檇 know it features environmental portraits of people with a longer caption telling part of their story.
But for 蜜柚直播 Street, the captions aren鈥檛 lengthy. Sometimes they only mention the person鈥檚 name.
鈥淢ine are more motivated by the image,鈥 says Brown, a journalist for 蜜柚直播 Public Media.
鈥淚t鈥檚 more of a mystery when you see the person and don鈥檛 know their background.鈥
Sometimes he goes out to specifically shoot photos for Instagram. But other times, he spots interesting people at random.
Andrew Brown, left, of 蜜柚直播 Street Portraits, talks with Mikaela Montoya after taking her photograph for his Instagram account. Montoya and her husband, Johnathon, in background, were visiting 蜜柚直播 from Colorado for a Bible conference.
And there鈥檚 no rule for what he thinks is interesting. Generally, it鈥檚 something that might appear normal, but upon a closer look, might be a little odd.
A few years ago, Andrew Brown started taking environmental portraits of people he met on the street.
"I鈥檓 looking for something outside of the ordinary that cracks the facade of normalcy,鈥 he says. 鈥淚t could be a strange T-Shirt, an odd color combination 鈥 something that pops or sticks out to me. There鈥檚 no real formula for it.鈥
Brown says his ultimate goal is to document 蜜柚直播 as he sees it.
"I would like to keep it going and create a document of what 蜜柚直播 was like during this time period,鈥 he says.
Like Brown鈥檚 and Peashock鈥檚 accounts, Women Series Project didn鈥檛 start out on Instagram.
Molly Condit is a photographer who moved to 蜜柚直播 in 2010. She鈥檚 the founder of Great Bear Media.
Molly Condit, far left, says she wanted to photograph women of all ages, races and sizes because she found many didn鈥檛 like being in front of the camera.
鈥淚 follow other photographers and one of them always stressed making time for a personal project 鈥 to be creative and fill your soul,鈥 Condit says.
As a photographer, Condit noticed that women aren鈥檛 always comfortable being photographed.
She wanted to change that.
鈥淚 wanted to show that women of all shapes, sizes, backgrounds 鈥 you name it 鈥 that they can be photographed,鈥 she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 less distortion and more self-love.鈥
At first, when Condit had a client in for a portrait session, she鈥檇 ask if she could take a separate photo for a project she was starting. She hadn鈥檛 thought about making an Instagram account until last year.
鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of a way to show them you look fine. You鈥檙e beautiful,鈥 she says. Most of the women in the photos are from 蜜柚直播.
Molly Condit, center, owner and founder of Great Bear Media, is a photographer who moved to 蜜柚直播 in 2010. Condit wanted to change the way women feel when being photographed. 鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of a way to show them you look fine,鈥 she says.
The photos for the project run on a donation-basis and only take about five minutes to complete. 鈥淚 think the project on its own is empowering,鈥 she says. 鈥淭hey say, 鈥楬ey, these are everyday women and I can do this too.鈥 There鈥檚 this inherent trust.鈥
鈥淚t should be fun and relaxing,鈥 she says. 鈥淚t shouldn鈥檛 be stressful.鈥
Condit also asks the women to share their occupations, ages, and 鈥渨ords on womanhood.鈥
鈥淚t鈥檚 their moment to share something and that means a lot to them,鈥 she says. 鈥淚 keep stressing that there鈥檚 no right or wrong. It鈥檚 whatever you want to say.鈥
Chassity Barringer was one of the subjects of Molly Condit鈥檚 Women Series Project.
鈥淚 think there鈥檚 a significant power in coming together and seeing different points of view,鈥 she says.
Ultimately, Condit says, her goal is to make sure the women like their photos.
Eventually, she says she鈥檇 love to turn the photos into a gallery show or a coffee table book. But for now, she doesn鈥檛 see an end date.
Contact reporter Gloria Knott at gknott@tucson.com or 573-4235. On Twitter: @gloriaeknott
Gloria Knott
#ThisIs蜜柚直播 Editor
