“Well, I’m a-standin’ on a corner in Winslow, Arizona, and such a fine sight to see.”
— The Eagles, “Take It Easy” (1972)

On May 15, late in the afternoon, I drove into Winslow, Arizona, and stood on the corner where Jackson Browne and Glenn Frey wrote about in 1972.

What it is

Standin’ on the Corner Park is a small public park in downtown Winslow that commemorates the song “Take It Easy” — the one with the line every guitarist knows: “standin’ on a corner in Winslow, Arizona.” The song was on the Eagles’ debut album in 1972.

The park has:

• A two-story trompe-l’œil mural of a 1940s-era building and a flatbed Ford truck
• A real flatbed Ford parked permanently on the street corner
• A bronze statue of a guitar-carrying figure — “Easy” — modeled loosely on Jackson Browne, but meant to represent any troubadour
• A wall of donor bricks, each with a personal story about Winslow

It’s a small park. Five minutes to walk through. But it has the weight of fifty-plus years of American pop culture baked into every inch of it.

Why I went

I went because I’d been humming “Take It Easy” for the entire trip. There’s no escaping the song when you’re driving I-40 across northern Arizona — it has been on the radio every hour since you cross the state line. When I realized I’d be passing within an hour’s drive of Winslow, the detour was obvious.

I also went because some places aren’t really places — they’re lines from songs. Standin’ on the Corner Park is one of those. You’re not visiting a corner; you’re visiting a lyric that became a place.

The shot

I made this image around 8:15 in the morning on May 15 — the first proper light of the day, before the heat of the afternoon had a chance to build. There were maybe five other tourists in the park, and the bronze statue stood on the corner looking east, guitar slung low.

The image is the Nikon Z6 with the 28-75mm f/2.8 at 31mm equivalent. Exposure was 1/160 at f/6.3, ISO 100. I chose a moderately wide focal length because I wanted both the statue and the flatbed Ford truck in the frame — the two visual anchors of the park.

The wall of donor bricks is in the foreground. The trompe-l’œil mural is in the background. The statue stands at the corner, exactly where Jackson Browne (sort of) did in 1972.

What I learned

There’s a kind of photography that’s about a place, and there’s a kind that’s about a feeling. Standin’ on the Corner Park is more feeling than place — a song lyric given physical form, a chance to stand in someone else’s imagination.

The image isn’t really about the statue or the truck. It’s about being there, in the town where Jackson Browne stood, in the corner the song names. The photograph is just the evidence.

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That wraps up the Arizona series. Next stop: I haven’t decided yet. Yosemite is on the list — making 4×5 images of Half Dome, the way Ansel Adams did, has been a long-time dream.

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Camera: Nikon Z6 mirrorless
Lens: Nikkor Z 28-75mm f/2.8 at 31mm
Exposure: 1/160 second, f/6.3, ISO 100
Location: Standin’ on the Corner Park, Winslow, AZ
Captured: May 15, 2026, ~8:15 AM (camera clock was set to Eastern Time)