Bags
Camera bags, talk about going down the rabbit hole. Forget about what’s inside, let’s talk about the bag.
Wooden Tripod
I serviced the tripod today. I repaired a loose hinge, polished the head plate, and applied mineral oil to the wood.
One-Eyed Dog
Photography is a gentle way to see oneself alive.
Rangefinder
There are cameras, and then there are ones that reveal heartache long buried. I think we’re chasing understanding when it comes to our photography, and a high-quality rangefinder is one of those rare cameras that has nothing to do with specs and everything to do with the human heart.
Film
It’s pictures made with film that I want to print most — a perfect blend of being choosy and patient.
Expansive
Wind lifts loose soil and shuffles mesquite branches and swirls across a vast horizon.
Tone Curve
The tone is more critical than the temperature.
Experiment
Many people know that we have more to learn, and from the moment we realize that we’re not the center of everything, it gets better.
Tough. Friendly. Hardworking.
Odessa is a pretty good place.
One Big Small Town
If you take pictures from town to town and put everything together, it’s like you’re seeing one big small town.
Abandoned Buildings
Abandoned buildings dot rural Texas, but if restored, they’d make great workspaces, and I’d gladly rent one.
Colorado City
Colorado City has potential and possesses a great central business district. It’s on busy Interstate Twenty, far out but not too far away, and surrounded by rolling plains.
f/8 and be there
F/8 is typically the most optimal aperture for everyday lenses.
The end of photo archives
Image archives will become unrealistic because we’ll have too many new photographs.
Watching the sky
Cumulus clouds rise above the horizon, resembling snowcapped mountains where Abilene needs rain — a grudge is a burden none can afford.
Endure
One must be blind or drunk or in love to live somewhere worse looking than Odessa.
A Home in the Monochrome
In every color image I take, I see a black-and-white photographer trying to escape. It’s black-and-white or bust. Mine are pictures of rust, dents, and dust.
Far from perfect
There are things we can control and things we cannot. There are things we can get out in front of and things we cannot. Therefore, we must do is our best and grow. It’s life.
More Modern
Art made more sense in horse and buggy days because the technology of 1855 more closely resembled that of 1555 than 1955. The first tintypes appeared around 1855, making photography more modern.
Twangy
It’s pedal steel, a high-treble electric, and a six-string acoustic; its fiddle, snare, and upright bass and lyrics about heartache.