Andrews Highway
Odessa, Texas
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.
Beyond Awful
Whenever I see a perfect picture, I’ll think, surely this isn’t real.
One Camera, One Lens
The X-Pro series is Fujifilm’s gift to photography. I recommend the X-Pro2 and XF 35mm f/2 lens because it’s digital perfection.
A Road End
Odessa, Texas
A Thousand Tiny Diamonds
Out by a truck stop, work camp, and several oilfield equipment yards — trucks crack the pavement to hell under scarce rain, and when the sun returns, the damp road will sparkle.
Theater Detail
Odessa, Texas
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.
Virtual Movements
With enough resolution, we can crop in, move a frame around, and simulate a view camera’s movements in post — including rise, fall, and shift.
Basic Editing
Pull the contrast slider down to -100 and then set a tonal curve to one’s liking.
Big Bend
A plan to construct a physical barrier across Big Bend would be unpopular.
Nikon F Lenses
Nikon’s manual F lenses are worth considering because they’ll mount to just about any mirrorless camera today.
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.
On Main
Big Spring, Texas
Library Windows
In setbacks, mishaps, and errors — life teaches us that we have the capacity to grow, overcome, and live in inspirational ways.
Film, Post 2020
Put film photography to rest. Digital is better.
Traveling Kindly
Go without want.
Poetry
If music is older than language, then that’s probably a large part of it.