Photographing San Saba: Notes from the Texas Hill Country
Two small figures in the distance walking across a historic bridge under a sunset sky. This is the heart of Texas Hill Country. The quiet stillness, aging structures, and open skies provide so many opportunities to tell the story of this area in photographs. I love finding evidence of the area’s residents in lonely buildings out in the countryside framed by dramatic skies. San Saba sits on the edge of the Hill Country and provides a mix of wide open plains covered in pecan groves and rugged hills dotted with ranches, old cemeteries, and small towns. It can be challenging to get the right shot with so many ranches and other private property cutting off easy access to a picturesque farm house or blocking the best angle to get that old windmill in front of a golden sunset. But, I find a little patience and a willingness to drive down some small country roads can provide just the stories I am looking for.
I went there with the intent of showing man and nature together in a slower rhythm of life than I am used to. Taking the back roads and looking for the lesser known subjects gets me beyond the normal selfie in a bluebonnet field photo. This is where I can document the peaceful nature of the area. I can travel for miles without seeing another human being, but I am never far from the rural churches, ornate ranch gates, and other markers of man’s presence in the area.
This unmarked, church sitting amongst the bluebonnets next to a tiny cemetery on a small back road caught my eye immediately. The day was cloudy and it looked like we were in for one of the storms that roll across Texas in the spring time. We didn’t get one that day, but the sky did lend a bit of drama to the picture. I used my old Nikon FM camera loaded with Kodak Gold 200 film for this image. Shooting film slows you down a bit, makes you a bit more deliberate in what and how you shoot, and instantly gives your image a more timeless quality. It’s not for everyone, but I highly recommend it for those willing to be a bit more adventurous in their photography.
Another thing I look for in my photography is a unique viewpoint, different angle, or a natural frame to an image. In the image above an old, wooden train trestle provides a weathered frame for this stretch of dirt road right after a light rain. The complementary browns of the trestle, the dirt and the puddles give a unity and cohesion to the photo, and contrast well with the lush greens of the fields beyond. This is the evocative nature of the area that I want to capture whenever I am there. The evidence of mankind is all around, but meeting up with them can be a rare occurrence if you want it to be out here.
This little pond surrounded by wildflowers with the plains stretching off into the distance under a cloudy sky attracted me on a morning walk. With so many wide open spaces, it can be hard to add depth to your pictures. That is why I focused in on this little slice of the area and made sure to get the tree in the shot to break up the horizon and emphasized the colorful flowers in the foreground. If I had gone with a wider shot to emphasize the openness of the landscape I would have ended up with a flat picture with nothing to draw the viewer in.
A tractor ready for work in front of a colorful Texas sunset may not be the most original photo ever taken, but it is still worth exploring. In this case it had some personal meaning for me. This image was taken on my father-in-law’s property and is a reminder to me of the warmth and hospitality I have experienced during my time there. I also love the way the dynamic clouds draw the eye across the frame and help lead the viewer to the tractor as the main subject. I walked all around this area looking for the right composition before taking this photograph. This is where digital photography differs from film. You can take a few more experimental pictures and immediately see what works and what doesn’t. That feedback was essential to finding the final image.
Which brings me back to the image that started this post. Two figures in the distance near the end of the bridge span draw your attention after you follow the leading lines of the suspension cables. The pink and orange tinged sky frames the bridge and casts a warm glow over the entire scene. The Regency Bridge, built in 1939, is one of the last remaining suspension bridges in Texas and its worn wooden deck and flaking paint on the cables give the photograph a texture and depth. Man and nature together was one of the themes of this trip’s photography. My goal was to return with several images that fit that theme and provided a cohesive story of the area and the feelings it evokes.
This photograph encapsulates the story I was looking to tell. I could feel the quiet and peaceful way of life in the warm light of the sunset and the rustic, creaking bridge as I searched for the composition of this image. When the photography was done I stood on the bridge with my wife and we quietly watched the light of the day disappear together.
San Saba, Texas and Eugene, Oregon where I am from are very different in their way of life and daily rhythms, but that is part of what makes travel so interesting. The San Saba work is available in the shop as prints and framed works for your home.
