Late as usual, but you have to give a guy a break when he’s trying to re-invent his time management.

I’m rather fond of this image. I’m especially drawn to the hair-like flow of the dried corn stalk leaves, almost as if they’re ready to bow out for the season. The pivot, a signature characteristic of the plains, simply resigns to the oncoming of another cold season.

To be honest, it was made the same evening as the October calendar was shot. The fall skies in West Texas are nothing but impressive, and I enjoy nothing more than just driving the Llano Estacado during this time of year and running down the sunset. Alternatively, the color in the sky makes up for the lack of it on the ground this year.

For those interested, the book is wrapping up well, and should be shipping in just a little over a month. I can’t describe how excited I am to have it out, and I hope you find it useful in your photographic storytelling!

Enjoy.

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Today and tomorrow, one of my best friends and colleagues is being honored and inducted into the  Texas Heroes Hall of Honor. Over the past decade, I’ve been able to share some great experiences, take part in some life-changing opportunities, and see quite a bit of dashboard time with Wyman Meinzer, and I can’t say any of it has ever been disappointing.

From taking a chance on attending a two-week field photography course with him during my undergraduate days at Texas Tech University, to co-teaching the very same class for six years afterward, to operating a publishing house together with his lovely wife and another one of my great friends, Sylinda, I’ve been able to get to know a person who is truly deserving of such a prestigious honor. With Wyman, I’ve photographed everything from the roughest Texas landscapes, the most venomous snakes that slither along their grounds, to the people that continually make up the Texas story, and through the years, I’ve seen in him what it means to truly embody the passion and pride for making those stories ring true for not only other Texans, but for the world.

I can’t begin to tell you how much I’ve learned from Wyman for risk of this post taking up your entire day. Suffice to say that when one needed a mentor, Wyman was always there for me. Whenever I was just testing the professional photographic waters, the State Photographer of Texas never treated me as an assistant who lacked no skill or as someone who was just tagging along. Over the many miles we’ve put on several vehicles, I was always looked at and treated as a colleague, and that was and still is the most encouraging part of my professional relationship with him. I continually learn and grow as a storyteller when we’re together looking over old slides or new Raw files. I’ve seen my own photography and business grow in part to the long hours we’ve spent together, talked about the industry, and taught hundreds of students. For this I’m grateful.

Most importantly, though, Wyman has always been a friend. It’s hard to describe our similarities (although our wives may have a few things to say about them), but Wyman and I have always connected. I’m most thankful for this part of our relationship. We’ve told many ‘a story (tall tales or not) and smoked a few cigars together these past few years, and there’s even a few folks out there that probably think we’re related, and others that are used to seeing us amble in together to grab a bite for lunch. This friendship is as valuable, if not more so, than all of the “education” I’ve garnered from him along the way.

So, here’s to you Wyman! I’m proud to call you a friend and colleague, and I can’t think of anyone else in our line of work more deserving of this monumental honor. You’ve helped weave the narrative of the State of Texas, and you’ve influenced a lot of lives along the way.

If nothing else, you deserve the title of Hero…because you’re certainly one of mine.

July (well, all winter, spring, and summer) has been an extremely dry period in Texas. It’s so dry that most folks, along with the meteorologists, are saying it’s worse than the Dust Bowl era. I believe it. When I stepped off the plane in Lubbock from my trip to Scotland, the 25+ mile per hour wind breathed like a blast furnace. Stepping off of the tarmac because the gate had broken down just heightened this intense welcome back to my home.

Drought is not a foreign concept to Texas, however, and although it’s certainly not ideal for everyone in the state, including farmers and ranchers, we’ve been able to make it through some pretty hairy situations. This year’s fires that roamed across the state like a burning caravan and the lack of rain in some parts since September have made for unusually oppressing conditions, but we continue to look to the sky for rain (the first substantial shower we’ve seen in quite some time has just passed over as I’m writing this).

This month’s (late) desktop calendar features one of a herd of Quarter Horses running to water on the legendary 6666 Ranch. I was driving out through what locals call “The Big Empty” to visit with good friend and partner-in-crime, Wyman Meinzer, when I happened by this herd gathering in the early morning on the top of a hill where a lone concrete watering tank stood. The ranch had witnessed the wildfire referenced above, and the drought was certainly taking its toll. If I know this ranch and the people that work it, though, these environmental factors are taken in stride, and the work goes on.

By the way, for an outstanding look at the 6666 Ranch, take a peek at Wyman’s now-iconic book, Portrait of a Texas Ranch.

Enjoy the calendar and your July!

You know what to do (and just in case, right click the link, and open in a new window for a drag-and-drop friendly desktop image)!

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Each May usually sees me co-teaching a photography course in Junction, Texas, with my good friend, Wyman Meinzer. However, I’m headed to teach in Spain this year, and although it will be a new and fresh environment to lead students, much of my experience in teaching these types of courses comes from working in Junction over the past seven years.

That being said, I thought it rather appropriate to start this month off with a downloadable desktop calendar of Independence Creek, a Nature Conservancy-owned stretch of the well-known tributary to the lower Pecos River in southwest Texas. Atop the high mesas, one can look down upon the riparian habitat below, and the students attending the Junction Experience (as we affectionately call it) spend four days photographing this lovely area on the edge of the Chihuahuan desert. It’s a fantastic experience, chock full of great memories, great people, and, of course, great images!

To download a calendar, just RIGHT CLICK the links below, and open them up in a new window. From there, just copy or save on to your desktop! Enjoy:

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Most of Texas would certainly be happy with a little rain right now, even if it brought with it a bit of ferocity! This menacing looking thunderstorm came in during September, 2007, and it was what some folks in this area call a “gullywasher.” We definitely could use a washing of any kind right now! Drought cycles come and go, but for those of you that live in semi-arid to arid environments know it’s never easy on the land, its flora, fauna, and other inhabitants. It’s certainly not easy when wildfire ignites and makes its way across thousands of acres.

For those interested, the exposure for this hot storm was 1.0 seconds at f/22, ISO 50 (Canon EOS 5D, 17-35mm f/2.8L @ 17mm).

One of the more pristine water sources in Texas resides just a short hike up a canyon near Dolan Falls on the Devil’s River. Dolan Creek feeds the Devil’s, much in part from natural seepage from the canyon walls that line its path through acres of wilderness and sparse ranch land. The creek is mostly composed of a hard bedrock bottom, and when the water resides from flood level, small tinaja-like pools, like the one above.

On the fringe of the Chihuahuan Desert and the Edwards Plateau, the juncture of both Dolan Creek and the Devil’s River serves as a miniature oasis for the surrounding vegetation and fauna. Since it is controlled by the good folks at the Nature Conservancy, it’s also in good hands. It’s hard not to be outside during a visit to this area! These kinds of places are becoming fewer and fewer, so if you ever get a chance to visit Dolan Creek or similar areas, enjoy your experience fully!

I know last month’s desktop calendar featured mountains as well, but I’m jonesing for another pilgrimage to Big Bend soon, and I just couldn’t help it! This particular shot was made of the same range as featured in this post, however, this sunrise slithered across the lower hills on the south side of the Chisos. My favorite feature of Big Bend National Park is the river road trail, and from the remote Talley campsite, you can look back miles toward these mountains and only be less than one from the Rio Grande. Quite and beautiful. A rough ride to get there, but worth it!

Click on the link that fits your screen best, and copy to save!

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This small pasture is right next to the house I grew up in on Meadows Ranch, and with the sun setting, it just simply lights up, glowing gold in stark contrast with the rich blues of the thick layer of clouds the sun happened to sneak under for a minute or two. Although in the winter, the heads “turkey-foot” heads disappear, the bluestem variety grass that covers this particular hill is always a pleasure to watch at the end of the day. During the Spring and early Summer, if the rain is right, it’s as thick as carpet and waves in the wind as if it were an ocean of green and earthy brown.

It’s the simpler things in life.

The good folks over at Craft & Vision this week tweeted a request for the best photography tips out there! Needless to say, there are many “best” tips, and there were some great ones provided! I’ll add one more to it. It’s certainly not the “best” tip, but it’s one you should throw in the back of your tool bag as a photographer and student of the craft: RE-visit familiar places.

I was recently asked by a fellow photographer and writer where my favorite place in Texas was to photograph. That’s a hard question to answer, and I don’t think my reply was very helpful. Big Bend. The Southern High Plains. The Cross-Timbers. The Llano and Sabinal Rivers. The list really could go on. Truth is: I know those places. There’s something that draws me to them, time after time, and I always find something new and unique to point a lens toward. However, I also try to return to previous shots that I know worked. I don’t do this all the time, but there are certain places that really just impact you visually. A place that you want to see again, just to make sure it’s there.

I thought about this when editing through some images I took a couple months ago (above) on the ranch where I grew up, The Meadows Ranch. I spent my whole life there before leaving for college, and between bicycle rides with my siblings and cousins, working cattle and goats with my grandfather and uncle, and grilling burgers with my parents on Saturday afternoons, I would say I know a thing or two about that special place as well. It’s even where I have some of my first distinct memories of getting in to color photography.

I can still remember taking this sunset shot on one of my first rolls of Fujichrome Velvia. More importantly, I remember it being a cool Fall evening and the sky lit up with the pinks and blues. Nevermind the tree with no leaves, this was the entree of winter after all. The rows of round-baled hay in the background “rounded” out the image to signify exactly where it was taken. Anyone that grew up on The Meadows Ranch would surely be able to identify this tree, and take you straight to it!

When I’m back home, I often RE-visit this area, just to see if there’s another image worth making. Sometimes I don’t even have a camera handy, or the light isn’t exactly promising, but I’ll glance at it, knowing that’s where at least a couple images worth talking about were made. I don’t want to center an entire trip back home (photographically speaking) just on this one area, nor would I go back to Dolan Falls year after year just to photograph the water from the same angle. However, areas that are familiar to us are attractive to approach with a camera once again, especially with the intent of finding something new. Maybe the composition doesn’t have to change. Maybe it’s a new season (maybe there’s leaves on the tree). Maybe you were just hiking by and you said to yourself, “I might as well grab a few here again also.”

No matter what the reason, it might be worth your while every now and then to check in on an old friend. As much as we talk about the “new” and progressively searching for something unique, we forget that sometimes part of the photographic learning process is to RE-VISIT and RE-SEE previous areas!

Just a small tip! I’m in Chicago today through Sunday, so if you want to meet up, shoot me an e-mail or comment!

I can never complain about being busy, and I don’t intend to start here. It’s just no excuse, though, for getting the calendar up late. I mean, how am I supposed to even know what day it is…

These lone Live Oak trees stand sentinel to the rolling plains of the big ranch country between Fort Worth and the Pacific Ocean, where it’s about as natural as it can get for most parts in the state. We published a book a couple years back called Inspiration, Texas Style, and iconic Texas writer, John Graves, penned the introduction to the text. In it he talked about the subsiding naturalness of places…places in general really. With it, though, he also related the hope we all express for the conservation of these places and the good in humanity that makes acts like this possible.

I’m reminded of this writing every time I travel across the open “naturalness” of this nation and others. At the close of the day, we are, after all, working together to enjoy this “place.”

You know the drill! Feel free to download at will for your desktop calendar pleasure!

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Enjoy the month!