"Life on a Ranch" - Kerrville, Texas Exhibit

It seems that our world is changing at such a fast pace, that no one is taking time to relax and enjoy the family, or for that matter, noticing that our very own surroundings are changing, or even disappearing. I remember growing up and my dad rounding us up and taking us to see a movie at the Majestic, Aztec or the Texas movie theaters in downtown San Antonio. We enjoyed John Wayne movies where the hero eliminated the villain, did the right thing, and always won the girl. In today’s society, that is pure fantasy. I saw my first 3D at the Texas Theater, and I can still see the Indian arrows aimed straight at me. These movie theaters have long ago ‘evolved’ and are now performance theaters.

Movies aren’t that different from a still photograph. Movies allow us to visually take in hundreds of moving images in a given time, while still photography gives us the opportunity to actually spend as much time or as little time enjoying or studying an individual image. Not all images may connect with the viewer but as a series, the spectator comes to realize that there is a message to be understood.

In my series of "Life on the Ranch", my missive is simple. The images you see are the wildlife that is still plentiful and some that may be rare in the Texas Hill Country. The life of the rancher is fading, as the land is being bought and sold for houses that are built only six feet from its neighbor. I suspect that where I live, just 30 miles from my native San Antonio, will soon meet that very criterion. In the short time I have lived in Comal County, there has been enormous growth toward shopping malls and subdivisions. Every day roads are made wider destroying all native floras. What does that mean to the small rancher, plant, and wildlife? It means it will eventually disappear. There will be no remembrance of the landscape.

"Life on the Ranch", a photographic series, is my personal journey to record a time when the Texas Hill Country by the Guadalupe River was overrun by deer, all kinds of birds and beautiful fields of wildflowers. The drought has been extremely detrimental to the plant life, creatures and for the small rancher to survive. Flooding in 2015 was brutal to the wildflowers as I saw them bloom and immediately rot from so much rain. My images are also an effort to bring a lasting visual documentation to those wishing to enjoy and remember what will soon come to pass.

"Life on the Ranch" series' next exhibit will be in Kerrville, Texas at the Kerr Arts and Cultural Center from July 30 to August 23. I will be introducing some new images for your viewing judgement and hopefully pleasure. The artist reception will be on Thursday, July 30 from 4:30 to 6:30 pm. I will be at the artist reception, and I look forward to seeing you there.

THE RED REPORT
Sonja Harris
Pray, Fight, NEVER GIVE UP!