Texas History

As a native Texan, I was born in an era in which the history of the state was a primary subject taught in school. From a very young age, I've always been fascinated by the stories of the fight for Texas' independence from Mexico and its ensuing years as an independent Republic before joining the United States of America.

A few years ago, I moved to New England for a few years. Although I had previously traveled quite a lot, this was the first time that I had taken up residence outside of Texas. Upon my return to Texas, I was surprised by the marked change in numerous areas of the state. Since I was returning to the state with my spouse Roy in tow, I was excited about showing him many areas of the state that held historical significance towards its' journey to independence. I was shocked to find just how much modern urban life had intruded upon these historical sites.

I hope that this series of photos captures that intrusion. The process of producing the photos uses a number of photographic techniques. A wide variety of lenses were used, from wide angle to telephoto. My primary film was a near-infrared film which helped separate various tones within the photographs, while providing a grain structure that suggests the feel of the site as it might have existed over 100 years ago. The images were then scanned into a computer and selected portions were colorized. No additional manipulation of the image was involved. Nothing was subtracted from or added to the images.

Working on this project has been both frustrating and rewarding. I'm greatly concerned about the continued urban encroachment on not only our historical sites, but also on our farmlands and state parks. The project is far from finished. I hope to continue documenting encroachment upon historical sites directly related to Texas' fight for independence, and to expand the project to include other historical sites from the era of the Indian wars and the Civil War.