Those locks
You know, if you’ve been here very long, that I will always try to look around the backs of places that I visit.
And so, here’s what is behind the famous Prada Marfa installation near Valentine, Texas. Because I figured you were wondering…
Valentine, Texas
photographed 12.22.2018
Ten years ago today…
Alpine, Texas
photographed 12.22.2018
Well, I never thought it would come to this – that the blog I started on January 1, 2009, for a one-year experiment would still be going. At the end of that first year, I had (I’m bragging here) five followers! Yes! Five! Can you imagine my excitement?!
Along the way, photography has become increasingly important to me, and I work hard at it, at tuning my personal vision, at improving my technical skills, and at having fun with it. (“Having fun with it” requires the least amount of work.) I’ve been in shows, gotten a handful of awards, participate in a local artist studio tour, taken some classes, etc.
And I’ve made friends through the blog, which is something that I never even considered to be a possibility when I started. That’s the best part, really. I’ve enjoyed getting to know a lot of you via our comments, and have been lucky enough to meet a few of you in person. You have all made my blog special.
Here’s a look at the very first photo that I posted:
Lubbock, Texas
photographed 1.1.2009
Do you see a trend with what I shoot? Are you as disturbed by it as I am? (This is the disturbing part – aside from the creepy imagery: I took the new photo a few days ago, and it just happened to fall into the posting rotation for today. [I don’t have any real organization at work when I decide what to post, which I suspect you’ve already noticed.] Anyway, as I started to think about what to write for today’s anniversary, I decided to go back and see what the very first blog image was. Yikes! What a coincidence. Or something.)
Anyway, here we go, on year eleven of this experiment. Thank you to everyone who’s coming along with me on this adventure!
BONUS:
Are you a glutton for punishment? Do you enjoy looking at not-very-good images? Do you want a way to waste some of your valuable time? If any of these things are true, you can see my previous blogs here and here and here. Starting in 2012, I jumped from Blogspot to Word Press and you can see all of that stuff right here.
I apologize in advance for the awfulness you are likely to encounter if you follow any of those links. At one point, I told my friend Ehpem that I was thinking of deleting those old blogs. Ehpem’s advice? To keep them, for historical purposes. Or did he say “hysterical” purposes? Probably that last thing.
…but you CAN leave furniture
If only that sign had been one letter wider…
Fort Stockton, Texas
photographed 12.25.2018
Another unnamed building
Here’s something to try for fun: first, let someone drive you around in an unfamiliar town, on a road that’s not really on a map. Then notice a building that you’d like to photograph. Make sure you’re in a situation where you can’t stop to get the shot. And, then, a few days later, try to find it again.There are bonus points if you can give your Patient Spouse (who is in an unfamiliar role as navigator) vague directions like “maybe the cross street is called Industrial?” or “there were some crosses by the railroad crossing.” And lots of bonus points if you get to town so late in the afternoon that it’s too dark anyway (because it’s solstice, after all). And then the regular number of points if you go back again on another day, have a bit of a “discussion” with the Patient Spouse about how to find the place, but since he’s driving and you’re navigating, then you eventually do locate it.
Just think of the fun!
Also, this: my first thought when we actually did locate the damn thing was that it wasn’t even worth the effort. But by then I was committed to getting the shot, whether or not it was worth it. I’m stubborn that way…
Midland, Texas
photographed 12.25.2018
(but attempted 12.17.2018 and 12.21.2018)
