Blog Archives
all souls
Part One
Prior to Memorial Day weekend of 1921, there was a thriving black community in Tulsa. This account from the JSTR Daily briefly introduces the events:
In 1921, Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Greenwood District, known as Black Wall Street, was one of the most prosperous African-American communities in the United States. But on May 31 of that year, the Tulsa Tribune reported that a black man, Dick Rowland, attempted to rape a white woman, Sarah Page. Whites in the area refused to wait for the investigative process to play out, sparking two days of unprecedented racial violence. Thirty-five city blocks went up in flames, 300 people died, and 800 were injured. Defense of white female virtue was the expressed motivation for the collective racial violence….
These African-Americans’ economic status could not save them from the racial hostility of their day. Greenwood survivors recount disturbing details about what really happened that night. Eyewitnesses claim “the area was bombed with kerosene and/or nitroglycerin,” causing the inferno to rage more aggressively. Official accounts state that private planes “were on reconnaissance missions, they were surveying the area to see what happened.”
(Note that the “reconnaissance missions” also firebombed the Greenwood District. Of course, this once thriving community didn’t recover. And it took the better part of century for the City of Tulsa to acknowledge what happed.
(For a comprehensive of this reprehensible event, read this article.)
Part Two
For years it was rumored that there were victims buried in unmarked graves. Early efforts did not support that contention, but lately there have been renewed efforts to locate graves. And just in the in the past week, approximately 78 sets of human remains were discovered.
Part Three
In October 2021, when I started photographing Route 66 as part of a collaborative photography project, it honestly seemed like a bit of a lark, a chance to find amusing things along the storied highway and gather up stories that were entertaining.
Part Four
This mural, though. Shocking. Stricking. Heartbreaking. Pointed. And not at all what I ever thought I would see.
Tulsa, Oklahoma
photographed 10.26.2025
the focus shifted to the groom
It was a damp and chilly day for a wedding party to spend a long time outside getting photos made.
And for some reason, I found great enjoyment in the few moments when the photographers turned the cameras toward the groom, leaving the bride momentarily not the center of attention.
Tulsa, Oklahoma
photographed 10.25.2026
doornail, dead as a
That bird evidently had had a rough Saturday night…
Tulsa, Oklahoma
photographed 10.26.2026
floral/arrangement
It was cloudy for the whole day (which was actually a nice change from the torrential rain we’d driven in for more than half of the trip*) and it reminded me of how soft photographs feel when you aren’t dealing with harsh sunlight.
There were a few leftover puddles on the polished stone planter so I caught some reflections.
Tulsa, Oklahoma
photographed 10.25.2025
*We were three blocks from home, on the way to catch a 6:00 pm flight to Tulsa, when we got a message that our flight was cancelled. So we drove instead. It was a challenging drive with the rain plus road construction in Oklahoma** but we made it.
**How can Oklahoma have (1) tollways, (2) constant road construction, and (3) shitty roads ALL AT THE SAME TIME?
dust bowl
The thing is that sometimes I can almost talk myself into thinking I can shoot from the passenger side of the car.
And the other thing is that is almost never the best solution*. For example, there’s no way to see this particular angle of the Dust Bowl unless you’re standing on the sidewalk.
Tulsa, Oklahoma
photographed 4.21.2024
*One exception: the meth-y parts of Albuquerque are not at all pedestrian-friendly.
One Day | One Image 