This black-and-white photograph of a cloudburst over Monument Valley by Jim Shoemaker is the Grand Prize winner in the 18th Annual Arizona Highways Online Photo Contest.
Best Picture 2026
GRAND PRIZE WINNER Jim Shoemaker This black-and-white photograph of a cloudburst over Monument Valley was the unanimous number one pick for our judges. In the words of Senior Editor Kelly Vaughn, "…
The Phoenix skyline unfurls in a view from September 1933. | William and James McCulloch
Different Point of View
PHOENIX LOOKED VERY DIFFERENT 100 YEARS AGO. And thanks to the work of two Scottish brothers, there’s abundant photographic evidence of just how different. William McCulloch and his older brother…
Saguaros crowned with blossoms are photographed from above by Shane McDermott operating a drone. drone
The Essence of Nature
Shane McDermott Tonto National Forest “This shot was about six years in the making,” Shane McDermott says. “I’ve tried shooting saguaro blooms in the past, taking a more traditional approach from…
A stitched panorama of three photos made during an autumn storm at Monument Valley is by Enio Lanaro.
What’s everyone looking at?
1. The most-viewed image over the past year was captured serendipitously. The series of three shots was made at 12:45 p.m. on May 18, 2006, in Monument Valley. In that moment, a few lucky…
The volcanic landscape of Maroon Crater and the approaching evening light are punctuated by a bright rainbow. By Bernhard Michaelis
This Is My Story … By Bernhard Michaelis
Living in the volcanic landscapes of Northern Arizona, I pass Maroon Crater regularly. One of the routes home takes me along a dirt road through the Coconino National Forest, with the crater rising…
Photograph of Jonathan T. Bailey standing in green foliage while writing in a notepad is by Steven Meckler.
Jonathan T. Bailey
There are worlds that writers share with their readers — those they spin from imagination and experience. But there are others they keep to themselves — the magical, inspirational places that require…
Thick-billed parrots once were plentiful in Arizona, but today, the state has only six — all in captivity. This pair lives at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson. | Bruce D. Taubert
Thick & Thin
WHAT A GLORIOUS RACKET IT MUST HAVE BEEN. What an incredible clamor filled a Chiricahua Mountains forest one August day in 1904, when a flock of as many as 1,000 thick-billed parrots (Rhynchopsitta…
Keet Seel ruins sits perched on a cliff beneath a streak-stained sheer canyon wall. By Laurence Parent
Remains to be Seen
NAVAJO NATIONAL MONUMENT By Robert Stieve For the first time in four hours, Rick was at a loss for words. I couldn’t come up with anything, either. Even the wind dwindled to a whisper, and the piñon…