Shooting, cont’d from page 4
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26
photographers frequenting the
region as a whole have the
opportunity, if not an obligation,
to educate all prospective travel-
ers from across the continent
that there are many faces to this
great region. The Chihuahuan
Desert is a diverse and dynamic
ecosystem and offers all comers
an exciting view into an unfor-
giving, but also mystical, land.”
Meinzer will be a speaker at
the 2011 Shooting West Texas
Photography Symposium in
Alpine, now in its third year.
Serious, and even curious, pho-
tographers will take him at his
word and return to the Big Bend
for the symposium and some
photos.
This year’s event will be held
Sept. 15-18 at Sul Ross State
University. Speakers in addition
to Meinzer include, to name
only a few, T. J. Tucker, creative
director for Texas Monthly; Robb
Kendrick, National Geographic and
tintype photographer; Russell
Graves, outdoor photography
editor for Texas Fish & Game
Magazine; Adam Jahiel, whose
haunting cowboy photographs
have appeared in Time,
Newsweek, the New York Times,
National Geographic Society
and worldwide; Wayne Baize, of
Cowboy Artists of America; and
local artists Rachael Waller and
Crystal Allbright. For the full
lineup and tickets, see the Web
site: shootingwesttexas.org.
These presenters come from
diverse backgrounds and places
and employ very different meth-
ods of photographing and
choosing their subjects. The
attendees at the Shooting West
Texas Photography Symposium
are equally diverse and, on the
surface, wouldn’t seem to have
much reason to meet.
They’re young and old,
urban, suburban and rural.
They prefer different types of
equipment – fancy digital con-
traptions or “point and shoot”
cameras inherited from grand-
ma. They attempt to contain
sprawling landscapes with
panoramic lenses or capture tiny
bugs and flower buds with
microscopic precision. Most
Cenizo
Third Quarter 2011
swear by the light of sunrise and
sunset, but a few bravely venture
out in the heat of day when sub-
ject-enhancing shadows are
scarce. But they all agree on one
thing: West Texas is a pretty spe-
cial place to practice their art.
And they agree that the
Shooting
West
Texas
Photography Symposium is
something, like sunset from the
porch in Terlingua or a dip in
the San Solomon Springs, that
can’t be experienced enough.
Past participants have come
from far and wide, and many of
them have made the symposium
an annual event for photograph-
ic fellowship, an opportunity to
share pointers and pictures and
another reason to get back to the
Big Bend.
As presenter Crystal Allbright
says, “From the panoramic
expanses to the tiniest flower sta-
men, this region heralds a diver-
sity of terrain and occupants to
photograph.” And that’s why
people love to “shoot” our ter-
rain.
Allbright describes her own
and others’ diverse interests
within the field of photography
and our region when she
describes her method. “Remi -
nis cent of Monet and the Rouen
Cathedral Series, I watch the
changes in light from day to day,
season to season, and don't let
‘bad light’ hinder a shutter click.
The scientist in me documents
the area for environmental pos-
terity with the artist’s hope of
achieving some aesthetic value.”
Shooting West Texas atten-
dees always make sure to take
plenty of photos while here (and
lots of memories, when they
leave), but symposium organizer
Dr. Barney Nelson hopes they’ll
leave something behind, too –
nothing tangible, necessarily, but
a legacy. She sees Shooting West
Texas as “a way for photogra-
phers to give a little back to this
beautiful place that makes them
all look so good.”
“Leave nothing but footprints
and take nothing but pictures
(lots of pictures),” Nelson seems
to say. And then share them,
because they really do make you
look good. And they make us
look good – no, they prove how
good we look – too.
As a professor of English at
Sul Ross, Nelson can’t help but
add, “Maybe (experienced pho-
tographers) can also give a little
educational boost to those who
are trying to follow in their foot-
steps.” And that’s the point of
her panoramic vision. Shooting
West Texas isn’t just for showing
off, or taking, good photos; it’s
about teaching, learning and
sharing.
The symposium features talks
on topics such as technique,
style, camera tricks and tips and
favored photogenic locales, all
accompanied with stunning
visual presentations that keep
the audience “ooohing” and
“aaahing” as each new image is
shown. Off-site workshops to
treasured local ranches, parks
and preserves are offered, and
attendees are invited to bring
their own work for a photo com-
petition and portfolio reviews by
professionals.
Tickets to the symposium are
$100 and include all speaker
presentations, entry of one
photo in the photo competition,
portfolio reviews and access to
information and vendor booths.
Additional fees are required for
off-site workshops at diverse
locations. Check the Shooting
West Texas Photography Sym -
po sium Web site for the latest
updates.
Plan to attend the symposium
to see one more reason why peo-
ple continue to return to the Big
Bend for more than sightseeing.
The region, with its scenery, its
solitude and its light, offers a
world of images for photogra-
phers from far and wide to
“shoot” – and capture – a tro-
phy-class picture.