Sometimes it is hard to remember the world of just a few months ago. Now we are living in a world of alt facts, alt world view and most certainly alt reality.
“I was thinking, which is a thing a man should not do, and all at once I couldn’t remember what any of them looked like. I, I couldn’t see their faces” – Major Stovall: Twelve O’Clock High
This is a photo from 2010 made with an Olympus E-PL1 and 20mm lens. My year project shooting the A7II and legacy lenses is about done. I have been kicking around some ideas for a new project but nothing yet. Maybe something like shooting with an obsolete mirrorless camera and lenses costing no more than $300.00 for the whole kit. Not sure about that one. I did see a very clean E-PL1 and 20mm lens for something less than the magic number the other day. Hmmm… I could keep the A7II as backup.
These images are part of my ongoing project to photograph ranch gates and signs across Texas. When driving through rural Texas, fences along the roadsides are transected every so often by openings for ranch access roads. Most are simple gates with dirt roads leading off into the distance but a few are elaborately outfitted with expensive ironwork, arches and even landscaping. They can be quite a sight in the middle of nowhere.
Most country people are private by nature. You hardly ever see their homes from the road. Just like city folks they like to boast a little and keep up with their neighbors. So they build gates as a way of evoking status and advertising a certain position in life.
Some of the grandest entrances are erected by part-time ranchers from the city who buy properties for recreation and hunting. Most don’t actually live in the country except for weekends and holidays, still it is always important to mark your territory. Just one of those ancient instincts you could say.