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06 JUNE 1 5 The 3rd annual PHOTO ISSUE sHutteR to tHink The stories behind cool local snaps Focus on nevada pHoto contest WinneRs Plus We Just Had to ask: HoW’d You Get HeRe? Inspiring Las Vegans share their arrival stories Perfect for nature, or the urban jungle. The 2015 Subaru XV Crosstrek™. It’s a drive on the greener side, even if the scenery is glass and concrete. A Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle* built in a zero-land ll plant, you get the go-anywhere capability of Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive with an enviable 34 mpg.† Everywhere, it’s a breath of fresh air. Love. It’s what makes a Subaru, a Subaru. XV Crosstrek. Learn more at subaru.com Subaru of Las Vegas 5385 West Sahara Avenue (702) 495-2100 Subaruoflasvegas.com Subaru is a registered trademark. *PZEV emissions warranty applies to only certain states. See retailer for complete information on emissions and new car limited warranties. †EPA-estimated hwy fuel economy for 2015 Subaru XV Crosstrek CVT models. Actual mileage may vary. EDiTOR’S Note PAST PRESENCE as Vegas’ transient populace can make for a lot of awaits, too, in our annual photo feature package. Once brain-drain and skeletal, undernourished relation- again, everyone from smartphone shutterbugs to pro ships, but there’s definitely one advantage to living shooters get time in the spotlight as winners — out of in a city where everyone comes from somewhere 1,426 entries! — in our third annual Focus on Nevada L else: Whoa, what great backstories. Amid the drift- photo contest (p. 50). And when you’re done drooling ers, dreamers and second-chancers who float our way, over that cache of eye-candy, be sure to check out the there are countless compelling tales of arrival. Some fled companion feature, “How I got the shot” (p. 61), a person- oppressive regimes and even civil war to come here; oth- al how-and-why walk-through of some seasoned photog- ers arrived through lucky encounters and chance meet- raphers’ favorite shots. Photojournalists share anecdotes ings that transformed their lives; still others consciously about some of their more newsworthy snaps, fine art bull’s-eyed Sin City with success in their sights. What- photographers unveil the techniques behind their star- ever the reason, those fascinating origin stories of How I tling images, and commercial shooters reveal the secrets Came to Vegas are the subject of this year’s installment of behind their surprisingly complex images. Smartphone We Just Had to Ask (p. 68). You’ll meet a newspaper car- cameras and image apps may have democratized the art toonist who got his big break from a gruff phone call from of photography, but there’s no Instagram filter for in- a former Nevada governor, an entrepreneur whose cross- stincts, ingenuity and inspired thinking. roads moment was a (thankfully) bad haircut, an artist Finally, ’scuse us while we pat ourselves couple who fled a stifling theocracy halfway around the on the back: Desert Companion took home world, and a Lost Boy of Sudan now living the American two Maggie awards (“the Oscars of publish- dream in Southern Nevada — and who still sometimes ing”!) at the 64th annual Western Publish- wonders if he is, in fact, dreaming. ing Association awards banquet May 1 in The extraordinary thing to me is a certain unextraor- Los Angeles. We won a Maggie for James dinariness about it all. Not, of course, their stories and Joseph Brown’s humorous Dungeons & their struggles. I’m thinking, rather, of the idea that liv- Dragons memoir, “Mage Against the Ma- ing in a drowsy north valley suburb is a Sudanese man chine” (November 2014), and another for who as a 7-year-boy walked for a month barefoot, through Chris Morris’ sharp illustration for our May jungle and over hill, to reach the promised land that was 2014 story, “Bad to the bones,” about the a crowded refugee camp in Ethiopia. That our city is a Tule Springs fossil beds. Woot! Congratula- Andrew Kiraly magnet for such stories — that the people who’ve lived tions to them, us and the real winner: You. editor these stories are our friends and neighbors — is a fine thing. And when you think of it in that light, our transience isn’t such a prob- NEXT lem. It suggests instead that while Ve- MONTH gas peddles luck to the tourists who Enter feast stream constantly through, we also mode! With our offer hope to those who choose to live sixth annual FOLLOW DESERT COMPANION DEALicious here, for however long. www.facebook.com/DesertCompanion Meals A refreshed vision of Las Vegas www.twitter.com/DesertCompanion JUNE 2015 2 DesertCompanion.Com 4 color process ® The will to do wonders® SUPPORTING ® OLDER INDIVIDUALSThe will to do wonders® 4 color process Caesars Foundation’s primary emphasis is supporting nonprofit advocacy and service-delivery organizations dedicated to helping older individuals live independently, maintain optimal health and proper nutrition, avoid social isolation, and enjoy mental and physical vitality through every stage of the aging process. We are proud to support dozens of organizations that share our passion for helping older individuals.® The will to do wonders® Visit caesarsfoundation.com for more information. ® The will to do wonders® facebook.com/CaesarsFoundation @CaesarsFdn JUNE 2015 VolUme 13 IssUe 6 [email protected] Wielding hashtags like throwing stars, the social-media have ventured into the wilderness west of Las Vegas over the ages. ninjas at the Nevada National Security Site showed us The group got a grant from the city to help cover printing costs, 1 some love for Alan Gegax’s account of touring the former Williams says. They’re shopping for a publisher now and hope Test Site, which ran in our May issue: “Great #article by Des- to have one nailed down by June. All proceeds from sales of the ert Companion magazine about the many #cultural resources softcover book will go back to the nonprofit to help its efforts to at the #Nevada National Security Site,” they posted. Careful preserve Red Rock’s safety and beauty. “This is something we’ve there; it’s all fun and games until someone puts their eye out on been talking about and working on for a long time,” Williams says. a pound sign. Speaking of cultural resources: “Raw and real,” “It’s great to see it finally coming to pass.” Lonn M. Friend’s May profile of local rocker Shel- ley Beth Miller, had ’em belting out a love song in Miller’s hometown. “We love Shelley back here in the Motor City,” Jake Smith commented at desert- companion.vegas. “She’s our blood and our soul. Rock on, Shelley.” Writing on Miller’s Facebook page, Karla Kay Harris gave subject and writer their due: “You have earned every word and every note. Lonn Friend captured your incredible strong spirit.” Another strong spirit is Melissa McGill, a parent featured in Heidi Kyser’s report about the expansion of magnet schools in Clark County — McGill’s a vocal critic of that process. And, it seems, a whole lot more. “Melissa McGill is a rock star and a wonderful human being and raises amazing children,” one Facebooker writes. Finally, in an- other short burst of reasonable praise, Eric Hunter had this to say about Vern Hee’s May report on efforts to turn Dept. of Humble Bragging: Desert Companion Maggied Beatty into a mountain-biking hot spot: “I think this could be it up last month at the 64th annual Western Publish- a great place,” he posted. “When I make the drive from Mam- 3 ing Association awards (the Maggies). Nominated in moth, California, to Las Vegas to Southern Utah, I drive thru eight categories, we brought home the clear tubular plastic this town and think what an awesome place this area would be statues in two: In Best Signed Editorial or Essay, the winner to ride, and also a reason to camp out at the nearby hot spring.” was James Joseph Brown’s November piece “Mage Against We think you mean “#nearby #hot #spring.” the Machine,” a lively memoir about playing Dungeons & Dragons as a kid. And under Best Single Editorial Illustration, A reader at the City of Las Vegas spotted the segment de- frequent contributor Chris Morris won for his vision of a bu- voted to Friends of Red Rock in our March feature “Good reaucrat standing atop a vanquished mammoth, which accom- 2 Neighbor Policy,” and wrote to let us know that the panied a story about the political obstacles to preserving the community group is about to add another feather to its cap — a Tule Springs fossil beds. “Getting a Maggie award is always book, Seekers, Saints & Scoundrels: the Colorful Characters of Red particularly gratifying,” says editor Andrew Kiraly, “because Rock Canyon. The 300-page collection of stories was researched, in this competition, Desert Companion — with our compara - written and edited by volunteers for Friends of Red Rock Canyon, tively tiny editorial staff of six — swims with some pretty big says president Chuck Williams. Several years in the making, it fish, such as Ms., Variety, Backpacker and more.” Fist-bumps documents the lore of hikers, climbers, miners and settlers who all around if, indeed, fist bumps are still a thing. JUNE 2015 4 DesertCompanion.Com DIRECTED BY FRANCO DRAGONE TICKETS FROM $69 ONLY AT 7:00PM AND 9:30PM CALL 800.392.1999 OR VISIT TREASUREISLAND.COM • CIRQUEDUSOLEIL.COM/MYSTERE June 2015 VolUme 13 IssUe 06 www.desertcompanion.com ent D FEATURES 50 OH, SNAP! 61 SHOOT 74 WE JUST Time to unveil the best submissions FIRST, ANSWER HAD TO ASK from our annual Focus on Nevada QUESTIONS So many Las Vegans come from photo contest — including one very LATER elsewhere, usually with a story enlightening grand-prize winner about how they got here.