Three Ring Legacy

This was one of the first photo pages I created after being hired into the world of newspaper photojournalism. It was published in the Scottsdale Progress newspaper on July 5, 1990. I took all the photographs, and the accompanying text was written by Janet Hughes.

I was assigned to photograph the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in downtown Phoenix. In journalism, you’re required to get names, and when I found out the showgirl riding the elephant was Michelle Youens, 19, of Scottsdale, Arizona, I instantly thought, there’s a story here.

She told me she had always wanted to join the circus. Her mother—who passed away when Michelle was just three—had also been a circus showgirl. As Michelle grew up, her father, Russel, who had worked as a clown in the circus, would tell her stories and show her pictures of her mother performing. Inspired by those memories, Michelle decided to follow in her mother’s footsteps and join the circus herself.

These photographs were taken over the course of two weeks, during which I visited the circus daily to capture the essence of her life.