Blog Archives
Jerusalem
According to the sign, Sunday School was supposed to be in session. The Patient Spouse and I (plus a dog that seemed to live in an adjacent cemetery) were the only ones in attendance and none of us were prepared to give a lesson.
So I made some photos, the dog returned to the shady spot he’d emerged from, and the PS and I drove onward.
Freestone County, Texas
photographed 8.15.2021
wall + window + screen
If you combine a series of country roads, each one smaller than the one before, and a sign that indicates a church down a narrow lane, I will check it out every time. It’s just a thing I do.
Freestone County, Texas
photographed 8.15.2021
steam + heat
My dad was a Train Guy. He was so much a Train Guy that he had a favorite locomotive, the one called Big Boy, a behemoth built by Union Pacific. It was in fact the largest steam locomotive ever build, weighing in at around 560 tons. He used to talk about this locomotive a lot.
So when we found out that Big Boy was out on tour this summer, we decided to go see it. For my dad. It was a six-hour drive from home to a place where we could intersect the route, so off we went. We first saw the train roll through a small town – it took less than a minute for it to pass us, all steam and noise and rumbling tracks. From there, we trailed it to Mexia, where it had a scheduled 45-minute stop. There were crowds on both sides of the tracks – seeing giant locomotive was a surprisingly popular afternoon activity.
So, yes, if you’re doing the math you’ll notice that we drove a total of 12 hours to see the train for 45 minutes and 42 seconds. It was worth it, though, because it gave us a chance to remember my dad and his love of trains.
Mexia, Texas
photographed 8.15.2021
Without a net
It’s weird how these things start: you see a lonely basketball goal and make a photograph. Then you see it again from a different angle and make another photo. Then you start to notice more and more and more and more and more of them and before you know it. there’s a gallery of sad basketball goals.
Toyahvale, Texas
photographed 3.24.2021
Shiprock, in the smoke and in a hurry
Last summer, we took a long road trip; most of the trip was under skies made hazy from western wildfires. And part of the longest days of driving were conducted under Extreme Boredom Conditions. This photo is an illustration of what happens under EBCs, when I pull out a camera and just…hit the shutter. It was interesting (at least to me) that the speed blurred the road sign at about the same degree that the smoke hazed over Shiprock, off in the distance.
Shiprock, New Mexico
photographed 9.7.2020
One Day | One Image 