If you’re an avid Instagram user in Tucson, you know there are countless accounts that show off the Old Pueblo’s charm.
But there are a small number of accounts that showcase the city’s less obvious beauty — abandoned buildings, vintage cars and the people who call Tucson home.
Here are just a few that we love:
Kristine Peashock: @tucsonordinary
Kristine Peashock
Kristine Peashock, of the Tucson Ordinary instagram account, photographs a scene on S. Country Club as the sun rises on June 26, 2019. Peashock says she likes to shoot in the middle of the night and early morning.
You might walk by an abandoned gas station and not give it a second glance. Maybe you see a pile of mattresses and think of them as eyesores.
But they’re not, says Kristine Peashock.
The Tucson Ordinary account is “emulating surreal, magical, beautiful and odd things that are an everyday sight but we don’t take the time to see.”
Everything she takes photos of — buildings, cars, artwork, signs — are accessible. “Anyone can walk by and see these places,” she says.
“You make my crappy neighborhood look not so crappy,” someone once told her. “It’s cool to see people excited about their city,” she says.
Peashock has lived in Tucson on-and-off for 20 years. When she most recently moved back, she found it difficult to connect.
“I was having a hard time connecting with people but I knew I wanted to connect with something,” she says.
“I thought Tucson was boring, but that’s really not the case.”
To help her feel connected, she started taking photos of random things she saw. Eventually, the photos landed on Instagram.
“It shows people that wherever you happen to be, there’s cool stuff if you look for it,” she says.
Peashock, who has a background in photography, takes photos nearly every day, though it’s almost never deliberate.
And she doesn’t follow specific criteria in what she photographs.
“If it captures my attention, I’ll shoot it,” she says. “In everything I post, I really do think there’s something beautiful.”
Another quirky thing with her account: The posts don’t include the exact location and instead include the ward the photo was taken in.
“I didn’t want to give exact locations — not because it’s a secret, but to keep the location sort of open,” she says. “I try to remove as much narrative as I can, so it’s open to interpretation. It adds a mysterious quality.”
Peashock says she doesn’t see an end to the account.
“I could shoot every day of my life and not see all of Tucson — and I like that,” she says.