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The Look

The trick is to a make picture that’s neither too saturated nor flat — neither too contrasty nor flat — just plain honest. It’s tougher to accomplish than one might think.

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In Parts

West Texas is just far — far from perfect — far from over — far from anywhere.

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Off-kiltered

We’re each a little so-so and better at different things. The fear of not measuring up stings.

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You have to be

I’m as interested in how a picture is made as in what it shows because you have to be. I’m talking about tools, texture, and tone. I’m thinking about lighting, color, and composition, and how well-assembled pictures can show nothing at all — and that’s okay.

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Beyond Awful

Whenever I see a perfect picture, I’ll think, surely this isn’t real.

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Bumbling

I embody something infuriating — an average person doing something. The combination of being run-of-the-mill and doing something creative is a frontier.

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Going to Town

A black-and-white picture of small-town Texas is sort of what western swing music looks like — if that makes sense.

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Traveling Kindly

Go without want.

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Poetry

If music is older than language, then that’s probably a large part of it.

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In the Moment

It transitions from play to art as we age, and in learning, it continues.

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Lightweight

The less we make photography about something, the more it accommodates.

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Taking or Making

In photographing landscapes, places, and found environments, perhaps the difference between making and taking lives in the focal length, where a 35mm takes, and a 50mm makes.

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Enjoying the Day

Interesting places exist wherever we look long enough. Odessa is a real place, nothing touristy about it, so thoroughly palpable that it’s utterly clueless about itself in a good way, and that’s why I stay.

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Keep Going

If you think it’s bad now, it used to be worse. That’s why I’m not too worried. You are a part of the change you would like to see.

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I don’t know what to tell ya

Bad advice permeates. Everyone offers it freely. The rarest thing is something helpful. So don’t worry. Go ahead and make a wrong decision and regret it later. It’s perfectly normal.

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Complaining (a how to guide)

Live a great life. From wherever to whatever, I love taking pictures with my camera. It’s an obsession — a small footprint: prints, posts, and film resting inside a trusty binder.