Photo Essay - PhotoTrice

Sailing

Someone has decided to sail across West Texas. The square canopy turned lateen sail is made ready for command by an unknown captain. With dry tanks acting as centerboard to steady her forward progress. Fossil fuel turned alternate energy but not eco friendly. The voyage is destined to end badly with Devils River Rough Canyon just half a mile away.

In places the West Texas landscape resembles an ocean of short grass punctuated at intervals by pump jacks and oilfield storage tanks. If you are fortunate enough to own wells then the smell of money is welcome. Otherwise it’s a reminder that fortunes rise and fall with the price of oil. Best to remember the old bumper sticker, “Please God, give me one more oil boom”, then pray not to piss it away.

Ghosts On The Border

The Texas borderland is an entirely contradictory place. In some areas thriving communities exist. In other places nothing is seen except green border patrol trucks prowling the hills. They make their presence known by the wisps of dust they leave behind. Life on the border has never been easy but things were better in times past. The population has been declining in some areas of the border for decades.

If you look carefully there are interesting relics of the past to be photographed along the Texas-Mexico border. But there are things to consider before jumping in with both feet. In the old days rattlesnakes and scorpions were dangers. Today, desperate people, some armed, may be present. There has always been a certain freedom of action practiced along the border. Today it is more overt and sometimes deadly.

A general rule in the Western United States is commerce follows the railroad. Interesting ghost towns will be within a few miles of rail or improved road transportation. Today highway 90 is the main road in the area. It follows the railroad right of way for the most part. To start exploring you need some good maps, a vehicle with high clearance and a desire to explore. The history is there you just have to go find it.

Celebrating Texas Independence Day

These photographs were made in Luckenbach, Texas a few days ago. There were a couple of hundred people on hand that day celebrating Texas Independence. I didn’t know there was a party going on until I got there. It was great fun.

Luckenbach is an excellent place to photograph musicians onstage. You can get in close for some really interesting shots. The crowds there are always eclectic. Generally they are a mix of cowboys, professional types masquerading as bikers and tourists who drift down from Fredricksburg. Everyone hangs out in front of the outdoor stage to drink a few beers and relax. It is a target rich environment for enterprising photographers. Well worth a visit if you are in the Texas Hill Country.