Allison Crouse's Salt River

Allison Crouse Medium: Digital Photography My panorama is made up of about 15 images of the Salt River. I was very fortunate to see the wild horses that morning. I was trying to capture the serenity of the river in the early morning. It is such a calm and yet wild place...

By Claire Lawton

September 15, 2011

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "18478561",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "16759093",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "17980324",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "16759092",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "17980324",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 24
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "16759094",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 24
        }
      ]

Allison Crouse

Medium: Digital Photography

My panorama is made up of about 15 images of the Salt River. I was very fortunate to see the wild horses that morning. I was trying to capture the serenity of the river in the early morning. It is such a calm and yet wild place (top image). I also wanted to show that over time it has become a place for tourism and recreation which has somewhat destroyed the beauty of it.

That is why I added the people tubing down the river, disrupting this scene (bottom image). There is trash all over the bank and even where the horses are feeding there are bottles and trash in the water, which was not added in photoshop, the trash is actually there.

I personally love to kayak the river and feel that it brings me peace and tranquility. It is so sad to see how people can take a place that once gave us the feel of the wild west and turn it into a place to party.

The countdown to Best of Phoenix continues! Last year, we profiled 100 Creatives who made a mark on the local arts scene. This year, we'll have 100 creative representations of Phoenix. No scope or requirement on medium or size -- we'll include photography, painting, sculpture, video, installation, literary, and more. What do you see when you Imagine PHX?

Imagine PHX, so far:

100: Steven Revering's Westward Ho
99: Jon Ashcroft's Suspended in Geography

98: William LeGoullon's Table

97. Jason Hill's Phoenix Financial Center

96. Kyle DeWitt's Tempe Center for the Arts

95: Allison Elliott's Walls of Downtown Phoenix

94. Fausto Fernandez's Grid City

93. Chikara Kakizawa's Ship Out of Water
92: Dayvid LeMmon's Process / Gentrification

91. Irma Sanchez's Phoenix Rising
90. Eduardo Rivera's De Colores

89. Arnold Guerrero's Camelback Mountain
88. Sean Deckert's Ginae vs. the 12th Street Gang
87. Pete Petrisko's Admiral of Phoenix
86. Quincy Ross' Lone Skyscraper
85. Andrew Armstrong's Illustrated Cityscape
84. Thomas Schultz's Phoenix Artifact
83. Adrian Lesoing's N. Evergreen
82. Suzanne Falk's Kon Tiki Hotel
81. Lindz Lew's Bon Voyeur
80. Kevin Patterson's Phoenix Swamp Beast
79. Ramy Sidarous' Three Windows
78. Will Mejia's Orpheum Theatre
77. Steve Weiss' Portrait of Louis Lee
76. Larry Willis' Apparition on East McDowell
75. Claire Warden's Untitled No. 3
74. Randy Zucker's Dancing Saguaro
73. Robert Brandan Martinez's Medical Cannabis Tax Stamp
72. Edward Jensen's Phoenix Financial Center

71. Andrew Knochel's View from PURL

70. Mark Dudlik's Phoenix Rebound

69. C.J. Dyer's Bird's Eye View

68. Virginia Martinez's Airport Scene

67. Carrie Marill's "It's a Cowboy State"

66. Eric Iwersen's The Saguaros Have Been Here the Longest

65. Danielle D'Aleo's 602far

64. Jesa Townsend's Stars of Flowers

63. Andrew Pielage's Sandra Day O'Connor Courthouse

62. Carol Panaro-Smith and James Hajicek's Arc of Departure
61. A Military Parade in Phoenix (c. 1888)

60. Charles Anthony Darr's Phoenix Haboob

59. Lisa Marie Sipe's Sweeping Succulent
58. Brad Armstrong's Phoenix Carnival
57. B. Spiderman's "... And I Never Did Get That Pony Either"
56. Colton Brock's 810 N. 4th St.
55. Melanie and Michelle Craven's Twin Cactus
54. 407 E Roosevelt St.
53. Betty Schlueter's "The Sonoran"
52. Saskia Jorda's "You are Here - Part I: Migration"
51. Tempe's Mill Avenue (c. 1930)
50. Michael and Kemper Goodwin's City Hall
49. Cornelius Keyes' Dust Storm Over Phoenix
48. Melissa McGurgan's Home Suite Home: PHX
47. Fred Tieken's Western Civilization

46. Andy Brooks and Danny Stoeller's I CACTUS PHX
45. Brian Brook's Phoenix Arm
44. Kristin Heggli's Downtown Architecture

43. Jill Johnson's Downtown Is ...

42. Peter Bugg and William LeGoullon's Embedded
41. Downtown's Hotel San Carlos (c. 1940)

40. Rembrandt Quiballo's Cinematic Panorama

39. Sebastien Millon's "Phoenix. It's Fabulous."

38. Howdy from Phoenix

37. beth tom's "we live here"

36. Merz Studio's Professional Building

35. Evan Wyloge's View from 44 Monroe

34. Harry Herz's Hole in Rock

33. Jason Kernevich and Dustin Summers' The Valley of the Sun
32. Laura Spalding Best's "Tarnish No. 1"

31. Jac T Bowen's Ferdinand the Bull and The Court of Flowers in Christown Spectrum Mall

30. John Scott Goodson's Civic Space Park

29. Street Map of Phoenix (c. 1932)

28. Rose Johnson's Prayer of St. Francis

27. Eric Cox's Superstition

26. Aaron Forjan's Tone-Mapped Guadalupe

25. Peter Martori's Walking Central 4001

24. Greg Esser and Christina Felix's DIY Arts District

23. Vintage Orange Trees of Mesa
22. Stacey Champion's Between Here and There

21. Leslie-Jean Thornton's Garden Grow
20. Royal Lescher and Leslie Mahoney's Downtown Hanny's

19. Francisco Garcia's Dream Act

18. Monica Robles' New Windsor Hotel

17. Joe Jankovsky's St. Mary's Elementary School Auditorium

16. Main Street, Mesa (c. 1908)

15. Sam Gomez's SKYPHOENIX

And, hey! It's lunch time. Check out Chow Bella's 100 Favorite Dishes for some foodie inspiration.

Have a suggestion for a Phoenix icon by a local creative? Leave it in the comments section or email [email protected]

Follow Jackalope Ranch on Facebook and Twitter.

KEEP NEW TIMES FREE... Since we started New Times, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Phoenix, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.