in print

an assignment for Texas Highways back in the spring made it into the recent august issue. i grew up reading this travel magazine. the destinations of national geographic seemed exotic and far flung, an excitement all their own, but TH made my home state appear equally alluring and diverse. here's to future stories.



dave's place is a unique little dive in center point, tx. hard to show the breadth of the place with a two photo spread, but rob mccorkle did a great job writing in what the limited layout couldn't show.






























dave's place has a open air bar with a botanical garden area, a pool room, and a series of cascading decks down to the guadalupe river where patrons can float up for food or beer. the cast of characters includes bikers, families, locals, tourists, a 20-something's crowd, visitors from the kerrville folk festival, and, of course, dave himself. a cold beer is never too far away from his hands.























dave keeps a lot of critters on the property in a set of pens out back. it's mostly a menagerie of mccaws and other exotic birds. annie, an orphaned axis fawn, stayed at dave's until they could find a spot at a nearby rescue center for her.















































































































































































































































































my memorial day jaunt to the center point spillway also made it into the magazine. the inside back cover is a spot for "window on texas" a feature photo from somewhere around the state. on a lark i sent the photo editor this shot of julio arreola. thanks for finding a home for it griff!


















i also really enjoyed the photos of kenny braun in the "chain of jewels" story on the texas lake system, including the cover shot above of a diver in the waters of lake travis. i'd link to them directly, but the digital edition of the magazine hasn't made it online just yet. guess you'll just have to buy a hard-copy until then...

galveston

spent the fourth in galveston with my cousin and his droogs ringing in his 30's. like my fantastic fellow photographer kendrick, i have a hard time putting down the camera on personal trips. it's almost more important for me to photograph the personal journey. i want to remember. being behind the camera can remove you from some action, but it also snaps you immediately into the present moment.

beach golf, surprise party, meat fest, fourth fireworks with lots of michael jackson in the background. great time, good friends. happy birthday, john. start planning the 40th!

san anton'

i'm in san antonio for a few weeks. as a kid we would drive to SA every month or so to visit my grandmother, but i don't have many memories of the city as an adult. i wandered around the new riverwalk extension in a brutal 104 degree heat. don't ask me why because the only answer i have is "because."









when i get to a new place, i want to know every inch of it. i love exploring hidden alleys, climbing to the highest point, and taking every dead-end street just to see what's there. my parents can tell you i was just as thorough with my home environment. they love telling the story about the time i climbed the bathroom counter as a toddler. i'm sure i wanted to see what was up there, just out of sight.

there's also the famous incident on hike and bike trail. my folks were walking the path on town lake as i blasted ahead on my bike. we probably made some deal that i would stop and let them catch up, but i went into explorer mode. my parents freaked when they couldn't find me, called the police and started asking every jogger and walker to be on the look out.

i eventually pulled over someplace to wait for them. a jogger passed by and told me my folks were worried sick. i was "lost." i had been perfectly happy out front until that moment. i was in a panic to be "found." i raced back to where the car was parked. the reunion moment is a blur in my memory but there were tears and a squad car and later on some soft serve at mcdonalds.

there's still a tension for me between being the explorer and the fear of getting lost.

when i feel aimless and driftless, going exploring helps me find myself again. when i'm faced with the proposition of exploring a completely new chapter of my life, i fear getting lost. somewhere in there, in the ebb and flow of that tension, is my path.