AZPA Members’ Weekend Adventure

Feature Image: © Fred Ullrich

No one can say our AZPA members are not intrepid! Recently, we were invited to escape the heat of the valley for a weekend of hospitality at Mary Ellen and Bill Fuller’s north Payson home and studio. Their home is in a fairly remote canyon very close to the Tonto Natural Bridge State Park, about 10 miles north of Payson. It was a weekend of show and tell, relaxation and conversation. Attendees included Susan Ruscetti who visited for the day (Saturday) before returning to Phoenix, Richard Laugharn, Fred Ullrich, Betty Drake, and me. Betty was fortunate to get the spare bedroom in the house while Richard, Fred and I enjoyed outdoor accommodations. It was great except I have a Toyota Tacoma where the back seats lay flat. I had plenty of cushions to make it comfortable, but it is only five feet wide and I’m six feet tall! I had to make myself fit, which made for a restless night. Fred reported he slept comfortably in his SUV, and Richard, who is an outside cat, slept on a cot under the stars. All was good until around 1:00 a.m. when it started raining, lightly, but continued throughout the night forcing me to roll up the windows. Instantly it became warm and stuffy in the truck when my “5-star” accommodation became a bit uncomfortable! Fortunately, I still got up feeling great and ready for the day.

One of our trip highlights included great meals provided by Mary Ellen Fuller who is an incredible person. She fed us breakfast, lunch and dinner over the two days. I have to say, in my opinion she is one of the bright stars of the AZPA. To start our Fuller studio experience, Bill gave us all a tour of his beautiful home that he built in 1975. Their home is filled with art of every kind, books and photography. It was truly amazing to see what this dynamic duo has collected over the years. After we listened to stories and looked at art, we walked outside to Bill’s stand-alone studio. It is a space he designed and constructed himself. Bill shared with us that his dark room is “close to his heart” and it includes his Beseler enlarger with a cold head which sits on the work bench surrounded by books filled with contact prints meticulously categorized and inventoried. On the other side of the room away from the enlarger are sinks for trays and a faucet for washing. He designed the darkroom to have a wet side and a dry side. If you are into analog darkroom work, you will understand the importance of a wet side and dry side. Bill’s darkroom walls are covered with gallery show announcements, postcards and photographs. When looking at the walls, I thought of photographing the whole thing to make a very interesting wallpaper from it. It is an impressive and a remarkably illustrative space which clearly defined his decades of photography work.

After our tour, Mary Ellen had a delicious lunch ready for us and then Bill invited us for a short hike in the wood along a dry creek bed. The trail was beautiful with mature growth trees lining the path. It was a great experience to be in the untouched landscape so close to his home. After our hike we retreated to the living room once again when of course Mary Ellen announced dinner was ready. After dinner and stuffing ourselves with a delicious meal that included homemade bread by Deb Laugharn, we migrated back to the living room to talk about photography for a few hours before the night was over. For me, it was so fulfilling to talk about our shared passion for photography.

Sunday morning came and again our “5-star hostess” Mary Ellen had breakfast ready for us with eggs, bagels, cheese, juices, and coffee. We visited again in the living room for a few hours before we all thought about the dreaded drive back home to our beloved 112-degree heat.

Thanks to Mary Ellen and Bill for hosting an incredible weekend.