Photographer captures natural beauty of the Lone Star State.
We’re always trying to convince outsiders that Texas has a rare beauty — one that you have to look deeper to see. If they stay long enough, they get it.
Photographer Kenny Braun, who grew up in Houston and now calls Austin home, has been shooting Texas most of his life. He captures the full range of Texas’ natural beauty in “As Far As You Can See, Picturing Texas” (UT Press, $45). He will be back in Houston for a book signing 5-7 p.m. Saturday at Catherine Couturier Gallery, 2635 Colquitt; 713524-5070.
Braun first honed his photo skills on surfing trips as a teenager; in his first book, “Surf Texas,” he documented the Gulf Coast surf scene.
“I grew up in Houston, and I believe that there is something to love about every region in Texas,” Braun said. “Mountains, rivers, prairies, lakes, beaches, deserts, woods and swamps. It’s all here.”
“As Far As You Can See” includes 100 images of Texas’ varied landscape.
Braun set his lens on a cotton field for “Stars and Cotton.”
“I was in the Panhandle region shooting Caprock Canyon, and it just happened to be cotton harvest time,” Braun said. “It reminded me of my parents, who used to pick cotton on their family farms. It was grueling work, and they are probably the last generation of their kind to do so. I had that connection to the landscape.
“I went out predawn to find an appropriate cotton field, which was surprisingly difficult in the dark, when the moon started to rise,” he said. “Between my headlights and the moonlight, I found this one near Tahoka. I was shooting in high cotton.”
Braun hopes his photo book will inspire people to get out and experience Texas’ natural beauty.
“Some people prefer the beach; others like the mountains,” he said. “And like me, some like it all.”