Valentine & Beyond
About the Photographs
The photographs presented in Valentine & Beyond were first made in the small West Texas town of Valentine. This is an unforgiving hardscrabble area that can take much and likes to give little. Raising cattle in this area of scarce forage and stingy rainfall requires a lot of land per head and loads of hard work by dedicated people who know the land and how mean it can get. I generally photograph to gain insight into what I’m taking pictures of with a belief that things keenly observed may be better understood. I photographed these images working to put together an exhibition with a dear friend who was born and grew up in Texas. The exhibition was titled SaddleUp and had its first showing in 2019 at the Texas State Capitol. From there, it traveled to multiple venues about the state. Regarding the images themselves, the hand-held photographs (cowboys — and every here and there a cowgirl — pushing cattle, working in the pens branding, a woman searching for a lost heifer) provide a look at the rough beauty of place, culture, and people. The formal portraits are intended to pay tribute to their subjects by creating visual records of these strong souls. The portraits are made on 8x10 inch film using a view camera with its accordion bellows and focusing cloth draped over photographer and ground glass. There’s something akin to ritual in fixing to film the delicate images projected to the ground glass of that big camera. One of the many magical things about photography is its ability to show us something from the past. I hope these images provide some monument to those who posed for the camera. We don’t stick around long, and we get old fast. Nice to see images of such strength and beauty preserved.
Senior couple posing in front of their ranch house, Valentine, Texas, 2015
Father and sons following afternoon work, Valentine, Texas, 2015
Husband and wife framed by persimmon trees, Valentine, Texas, 2015
Grandparents, son, and grandson at back of family house, Valentine, Texas, 2015
Father, mother, and daughter with prize buckles and saddles, Fort Davis, Texas, 2015
National High School Rodeo Assoc. 2015 Pole Bending Champion, Balmorhea, Texas, 2015
Youngster with family dog, Balmorhea, Texas, 2015
Husband and wife outside the family home with pets and antler collection, Valentine, Texas, 2015
Family matriarch at disused fenced orchard, Valentine, Texas, 2015
Father, mother, and daughter at watering tank, Valentine, Texas, 2015
Cowboy turned jeweler, near Fort Davis, Texas, 2016
Father and daughter at base of old Aermotor windmill, foot of Blue Mountain, Texas, 2016
Family matriarch with tree and horses, near Fort Davis, Texas, 2016
Well known maker of quality Western hats, Fort Davis, Texas, 2016
Husband and wife with horse and hanging tree dog, Jeff Davis County, 2016
Young woman with her mount near windmill and cistern, Valentine, Texas, 2016
Rancher with free range stock, near Van Horn, Texas, 2016
Large animal veterinarian just finished with pregnancy checks, near Valentine, Texas, 2016
Ranch hands mounted following a day's work, Jeff Davis Couny, Texas, 2016
Cowboy with his trained cowdogs, Lavaca County, Texas, 2017
Ranching family after the day's work, Lavaca County, Texas, 2017
Great grandfather, grandfather, grandson, and sons, Hallettsville, Texas, 2017
Ranch manager and saddled horse near sunrise, Valentine, Texas, 2015
Cowboys, cattle, and Tethered Aerostat Radar Systems balloon, Valentine, Texas, 2015
Placing a brand, Valentine, Texas, 2015
Horses in early morning sunlight, Valentine, Texas, 2015
Clearing tumbleweed from a range pen, Valentine, Texas, 2015
Young woman searching for a missing heifer, Fort Davis, Texas, 2016
Roundup crew pushing cattle to pens, Jeff Davis County, Texas, 2016
Approaching range pens, Jeff Davis County, Texas, 2016
Taking down a calf, Jeff Davis County, Texas, 2016
Castration following branding, Jeff Davis County, Texas, 2016
Lunch from the chuck wagon: steak, tortillas, beans, and Gatorade , Jeff Davis County, Texas, 2016
Searching for cattle at sunrise, near Valentine, Texas, 2016
Lassoed calf, near Valentine, Texas, 2016
Ready to brand, vaccinate, and castrate, near Valentine, Texas, 2016
Rising dust and smoke from branding, near Valentine, Texas, 2016
Tattooed hands with ear marker, Lavaca County, Texas, 2017
Castrating knife and mobile phone, Lavaca County, Texas, 2017
Cowdogs waiting for trip home after a day's work, Lavaca County, Texas, 2017