Boquillas del Carmen for the New York Times

I scored a great assignment this month from the New York Times travel section to visit Boquillas del Carmen, a tiny Mexican village just across the border from Big Bend National Park.

The border crossing at the Rio Grande River was officially closed in 2002 after the events of 9/11. With tourism dollars dried up, two-thirds of the residents of Boquillas had to relocate. Families were separated, some unable to visit from the US side of the border.

Last year, the river crossing reopened with a new $3.2 million dollar US border and customs building. Tourism is coming back to the sleepy town of Boquillas, but it has a long way to go. You can read the article here.

Boquillas del Carmen - Images by Julia Robinson

Cotulla for the Texas Observer

I spent an afternoon in Cotulla for the Texas Observer last month. This tiny town south of San Antonio is known in my family as the epicenter of Pig Fest, aka, the La Salle Wild Hog Cook-off. We've spent many a chilly March weekend sampling the finest chili, stew, roast, tacos, sausage, you name it, and watching the hog-themed parade down Main Street.

Cotulla is a different place now. In the last two years the population has more than doubled from 4,000 to 10,000 due to the fracking of the Eagle Ford Shale. Temporary housing and hotels can't be built fast enough. Heavy equipment and truck traffic roar through Cotulla's only stop-light, snarling traffic and damaging roads. The locals are happy with the boosted economy and higher paying jobs in the oil fields, but there is a cost. You can read Alex Hannaford's article here.

UIL State Track for the Dallas Morning News

That most wonderful time of year when I get a list of a dozen high schools and traipse all over the field to photograph them during simultaneous events. It's a multitaskers dream, but doesn't leave much wiggle room for making photos for me. I'm often trapped at the finish line waiting for the next heat to blast through, so might as well photograph the jube/deject where I see it, regardless of which school it is. I would love to see next year's assignment read - UIL Track: Emotion. Go.

Death of a Salesman for the Statesman

As part of the Fusebox Festival of performing arts, a NYC theater company has been commissioned to create a site-specific play. They chose the Lucky Lady Bingo parlor and will present a re-imagined version of "Death of Salesman" using a roster of both actors and non-actors from Austin.

Bob 'Daddy O' Wade for the San Antonio Express-News

Bob 'Daddy O' Wade has created some of largest folk-art in Texas including the giant boots at NorthStar Mall in San Antonio, the giant Iguana at the Fort Worth Zoo, the giant musical frogs at Chuys in Houston. Do you sense a theme? Everything is bigger when Daddy O is involved. Wade is part of an exhibit at Austin's Museum of Art at Laguna Gloria, where artists have designed a miniature golf course. Wade's #4 hole is called 'Chicken Ranch,' and pays homage to an earlier installation at the museum in which he also used lived chickens.

Peligrosa for the Statesman

Light monkeying around for Peligrosa, a Latin DJ collective that has a regular jam at the Scoot Inn.

SXSW 2012

Two months is enough time for recovery, right?

SXSW is a beast for any journalist to cover. Depending on what your client needs, which bands are 'breakthrough artists,' and how long the lines are, making the frames you want is a challenge. Most of these were snapped in the half hour I was running to the next line/show/sweatypresspit. I would love to street shoot the entire thing - following the sound of a good time, the good light, the randomness of the scene. You can only shoot so many open mouths at a microphone. Maybe next year.

SXSW 2012 - Images by Julia Robinson

Chuckwagon Races

Chuckwagon races just sound awesome, don't they? I came across their existence working on my story on Charles Goodnight, who was widely credited for inventing the chuckwagon in the late 1800's. After my stay-cation with the Ultimate Weird Sports Photographer, Sol Neelman, (see previous post) I drove out to Bandera for an event that's been on my radar for over a year.

Sunday's races at the Twin Elm Guest Ranch did not disappoint. There were only a few heats that day, but it whet my appetite for the National Chuckwagon Races in Arkansas later this year.


Chuckwagon Races - Images by Julia Robinson

Unicycle Football

This month I was visited by one of my favorite people, Sol Neelman. Our friendship dates back to the first (third) Aphotoaday Geekfest that I helped organize in Austin in 2005. A few dozen photographers invaded the Days Inn and Star Seeds for a long weekend of photo shenanigans. Friendships were forged and paths forever changed. Sol left the world of newspaper photography, embraced the freelance world, and his love of weird sports.

Lo, these 7 years later (dang we're getting old), he's published his first book with a second on the way. Whenever he comes to visit, weird sports is on the agenda. That's how we found ourselves in San Marcos, Texas for the 2012 semi-finals of the Unicycle Football League. Cooper Neill joined us for some quintessential Texas weirdness.



Unicycle Football - Images by Julia Robinson

Bad Dogs for the Wall Street Journal

I had a string of dog-related assignments a few weeks back. One of them took me to San Antonio where a new court system dedicated to dog offenses is getting mixed reviews. City officials appreciate the focused attention on canine violations which they hope will reduce the 3,000 residents a year that are bitten by dogs and the more than 150,000 dogs roam city streets on any given day.  Residents say the system targets family pets, not strays, and levies exorbitant fines for minor offenses.

I spent some time with the pups and their owners caught up in the system. You can read the article here and see the WSJ slideshow here.



San Antonio Dog Court for the Wall Street Journal - Images by Julia Robinson

Derrick Wright for Thrivent Magazine

I met Derrick Wright last December doing a shoot for Thrivent Magazine. Derrick, a West Point graduate and Army officer, was working as security for US diplomats in Iraq when a rocket attack in the Green Zone left him clinging to life with shrapnel in his skull. Doctors later removed 2/3 of the left side of his brain. That was 2007.

Derrick has relearned to walk and talk, though he still struggles with reading and short-term memory. These days he writes about his family and the Small Victories that keep him motivated and moving forward. It's a life they never imagined, but one they've embraced.

Eleanor Kitzman for the Dallas Morning News

Took a trip to the Hobby building to photograph the new Texas Insurance Commissioner Eleanor Kitzman. My father worked for TDI back in the 80's and I recall watching the Fourth of July fireworks over Town Lake from one of the balconies. The skyline has radically changed since those days and even the lake has been renamed. Still fun to reminisce.

Almost tall enough

Winter has finally hit Texas with a big chill. Just posting an outtake today from those beloved warmer days when a light breeze and a river view are perfect for daydreaming.

The Last UT Hex Rally for Reuters American Service

The annual Thanksgiving game between the University of Texas and Texas A&M has come to an end. The rivalry that started in 1894 has grown to be one of the most revered match-ups in the NCAA. With A&M's move to the SEC next year, and Texas' non-conference schedule full through 2018, it will be a long while before these two teams meet again.


The University of Texas holds a hex rally the week before the big game, a tradition started in 1941 to break a curse and string of losses to the Aggies. Burning red candles during the rally has (arguably) led Texas to win 75 of 118 games. 

This last rally was bittersweet for Horns fans and students. They added another W to the record last Thursday, but everyone wants to know when the rivalry will be born again.

Janell Smith for the Statesman

Janell Smith, a black belt martial arts instructor, teaches women and teens the techniques of self-defense. FitCity reporter Pam LeBlac and I sat in on a class at the School for Performing and Visual Arts in downtown Austin.

Lucy Morrison, 13, center, raises her fists for a punching exercise during a self-defense class taught by Janell Smith.

Aleta Neill, 13, center, raises her fists for a punching exercise.

(Left to right) Aleta Neill, 13, Cady Boyd, 15, Lucy Morrison, 13, and Katie Knight, 14, practice an escape technique during a self-defense class taught by Janell Smith, a black belt martial arts instructor, at the School for Performing and Visual Arts in downtown Austin.

Janell Smith, right, demonstrates an escape technique with Statesman Fit City reporter Pam LeBlanc, left, during a self-defense class at the School for Performing and Visual Arts in downtown Austin.

FitCity for the Statesman

Nothing like a few FitCity assignments to make me feel like a lazy slug! For a series on trainer/client duos I photographed Stephanie Flores and Erin Griffin at o'dark-thirty in the morning at J. Nettles Gym. Griffin has dropped 90 pounds, completed three half-marathons, and returned to competitive soccer in the three years she's worked with Flores. You can read more about Stephanie and Erin and other trainer/client teams here.