On the Tracks with Hannah Bebe (Patreon)

Hannah had been trying to make an Arizona shoot happen with me for a while, but timing never lined up until this trip. She had literally just been out in Lake Havasu before this and rushed back home so we could make this set happen. We ended up meeting out near Congress, Arizona, way out in the middle of nowhere on a stretch of train tracks that felt like pure desert isolation. We actually picked the location because it was almost dead-center between Prescott and Phoenix, but once we got out there it ended up having way more character than either of us expected.

The coolest part about this set was honestly the styling. Hannah was the only model this trip who brought actual chaps, and the second I saw them I knew we had to lean fully into that outlaw/western energy. The black hat, fringe, revolver, and those massive open desert landscapes all came together in a way that felt cinematic instead of overly polished. It almost looks like stills from a modern western film more than a traditional photo set.

We also shot video during this session that’ll be dropping later, which honestly captures the atmosphere of the location even better. Every once in a while a train would rip through the frame and completely change the energy. In some of the photos you can already see the motion blur from the train rolling past behind her, which added this chaotic streak of color and movement against the otherwise empty desert backdrop. It’s one of those things that would’ve been impossible to fake practically.

From a photography standpoint, this set was really about balancing scale and compression. Some of the wider shots were framed low on the tracks to exaggerate the leading lines and stretch the perspective, while the tighter images focused more on separation and depth, especially with the mountains fading softly into the background. The warm desert light mixed with the darker wardrobe helped everything pop without needing overly heavy editing. I also wanted the tones to stay cinematic instead of hyper-saturated, so the colors lean more into that dusty Arizona sunset feel rather than the typical bright desert postcard look.

It’s definitely one of those sets that feels bigger than just “photos.” The location, styling, motion, and overall atmosphere all kind of collided perfectly.