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A smattering of light
I didn’t even know there was a town called Maple, but there it was. Well, sort of. The Maple Co-op Gin appears to be still operational, and there are a couple of houses that are inhabited. But the rest of the place is left to the elements.
The town is not named after a popular locally-sourced syrup: this is cotton country, after all. Rather, it got its name from Mr. (I’m guessing on that part, actually) Maple Wilson, an early settler. It was founded in the early 1920s and the population peaked in the 1940s at approximately 600; at its peak the town had six businesses. The 2010 census listed the population at 56.
This is one of the six businesses Maple had at its peak; this one had two entrances and you can still read GROCERIES painted beside one door and DRUG COUNTER by the other one. I like the way the bits of light, from the holes in the roof, let the light play against the wall.
Maple, Texas
photographed 2.16.2014
Through that glass, brightly
If you manage to find Puerto de Luna, keep going until you cross the Pecos River, then take the first turn to the right. After a bit, you’ll see a tiny church on the right side of the road. The sign over the door says Santa Inez.
It was closed up the day we were there.
But I shot this through one of the windows, looking straight across the tiny sanctuary and out the other side.
Puerto de Luna, New Mexico
photographed 9.21.2013
Zia. Zia.
Zia. It’s everywhere in New Mexico. On the flag. On license plates. Twice on this building in Clovis. Even, according to this article, on public toilets.
But it’s also a sacred symbol of the Zia Pueblo, a tribe of about 850 members, who feel that perhaps their tribal symbol is being used in ways that are not in accordance with their beliefs. The current session of the state legislature has asked the State Department of Cultural Affairs to prepare a report on the matter. A previous fiscal impact study on the issue said the Cultural Affairs Department should consult with Zia Pueblo, but cautions that “there is potential for conflicts of interest between the state and the pueblo, particularly if the report is intended to include recommendations.”
Clovis, New Mexico
photographed 5.25.2013
Night light
You may recall that I sort of like shooting in Santa Rosa. For someone like me, who looks for beauty in decay, it is a very beautiful location.
This grand old building is now abandoned by everything except pigeons. And possibly rodents. (That reminds me – I once heard someone say that pigeons were just rats with wings.)
But anyway. It’s lovely by day – here’s a shot of the same building by my pal Donna Catterick. And at night, it’s even better. If you ask me. Which I realize you did not.
Santa Rosa, New Mexico
photographed 8.31.2012
The ghost of what once was
This wall beside a parking lot tells a story about what used to be here, before asphalt rectangles with space numbers painted in yellow were more valuable than buildings.
Speaking of rectangles: kind of a lot of them here, aren’t there?
Austin, Texas
photographed 5.11.2013
One Day | One Image 