Blog Archives
bidders at the horse sale
Have you been trying to imagine what my most unusual hobby is? Did you think that it might be attending horse sales?
I know: it surprises me as well. This is the third one I’ve been to and I enjoy them a lot. Not only is there the opportunity to photograph people, but it’s a whole cultural experience. I don’t know one thing about what’s going on, the lingo is incomprehensible, the prices (sometimes) seem outrageous, and so on.
One of the best parts of going is listening to auctioneers’ patter. Here’s some things I heard at this sale:
- This booger is straight in the mouth and square on all four corners.
- He don’t flop his tail.
- He’s got tons of hoof and bone.
- He’s never bred a mare: he’s in riding condition.
- If you took him home and cut him, his butt would get bigger in a week and a half.
To be clear, these things were said in relation to horses. I don’t know if that makes it better or not, but I felt like I ought to clarify.
Levelland, Texas
photographed 11.23.2024
cotton lint
There’s an excellent BBQ place in Slaton; it’s called Pitforks and Smokerings. You need to go, but get there early because they sell out pretty fast.
It’s housed in an old gas station and there’s an outdoor dining area, marked by black net, where the fuel pumps used to be. This is a shot of the netting that slows down the wind*, provides a bit of shade, and snags up cotton lint from the gin across the road.
Slaton, Texas
photographed 11.22.2024
*I almost said “breaks the wind” but realized that wasn’t AT ALL what I was trying to say.
the fish and the photographers
Those silly fish thought we were there to feed them, but of course that wasn’t at all what we were there for. If you look closely, you can see the reflections of my friend and I and we were definitely taking photos and ignoring the fist.
Later that morning we had a lovely picnic in a park, so we did feed ourselves. But still didn’t feed those fish.
Los Alamos, New Mexico
photographed 6.30.2024
many messages
Maybe you feel like you need to spend more time reading? But it feels like a whole book is too much?
I am here with a solution.
Go over to Taiban, and step inside the old church and read the walls. The plot can be a little hard to follow, but it won’t take you long to read the stuff that’s there. And the next time you’re there, you can read a whole new assortment of things.
That’s a literary win. Kind of.
Taiban, New Mexico
photographed 6.28.2024
pedernal: a non-traditional angle
If you are the littlest bit familiar with Georgia O’Keeffe’s paintings of the New Mexico landscape, then I bet you’ve seen various versions of the mesa known as the Pedernal.
However, for some reason, none of hers included a picnic shelter and/or a belly dump trailer. That seems like sort of an oversight on her part, but who am I to say?
near Abiquiu, New Mexico
photographed 7.3.2024
One Day | One Image 