Orla
A tall cylindrical gas pump stands outside the small wooden building covered with flaking paint. Inside, a concession stand waits beside mailboxes at the last stop for gas, cold drinks, snacks, beer, and ice — a long way to anywhere from Orla Grocery.
Orient Hotel and Saloon
Pecos, Texas
Oak Street
Pecos, Texas
El Paso
El Paso, Texas
San Antonio to El Paso Road
The San Antonio to El Paso Road, beginning circa 1850, was a western mail route across Texas to the Pacific. It went west along US 90 and turned north to join the Devils River near Comstock, linking forts Lancaster, Stockton, and Davis — and historic sites Casa Navarro, Landmark Inn, and Magoffin Home.
Bank
Barstow, Texas
Scoreboard Timer
Barstow, Texas
School
Barstow, Texas
Navasota
In 2014, at sunset, my parents and I pulled into downtown Navasota for pictures. I walked outside an abandoned hotel, carried my camera, and admired Railroad Street’s timeworn architecture.
Trestle
Navasota, Texas, 2017 (2020)
Blues Country
Navasota, Texas, 2017 (2019)
Scoreboard Timer
Barstow, Texas, 2019 (2019)
Near–middle–far
Near–middle–far is to a picture what time–manner–place is to a sentence.
Church
Taiban, New Mexico
Railroad Crossing
Navasota, Texas
Lone
Sometimes it’s a long way to get there, wherever that is. Sometimes on the plains, it’s said that the land is so flat that a person can see clear into next week, and on most days, a car will look like a dot on the horizon, and a town will appear as a spot on the map: communities near Amarillo: Umbarger, Wildorado, Washburn. Perhaps doing well is passing through.
Darkroom Rundown
In a photo darkroom, I see years of effort in every print, and in 2020, I selected pre-cut mats from a reliable source, worked with warmth, and sat with an open window, asking, what do I want to place in this?