Neal Ray Donop
Mason County Texas, 1973
There are plenty of legendary photographers out there who would be proud to have this shot in their portfolios. You may imagine my shock when I encountered it in the portfolio of a big-eyed cutie-pie whose arts-degree ink was barely dry.
In context, this could be considered a snapshot. The subject is the photographer's cousin; he's standing on the family truck, in the back-yard, so to speak, of the family's Texas ranch. The difference is in the eye of the photographer. The usual snapshooter would have stepped-in closer to the subject. KAS, on the other hand, recognized the importance of the sky and the land to this image. The subtext is: "It's a big land, and a huge world, and this young American is perfectly at home in it." The young American in question is about 30 now; and happily living and working in China. I guess he's still comfortable in this world of ours.
An interesting sidebar to this image is that the family still owns and uses this truck. And it's in fine shape. Sadly, the dog, Watchie has passed on. We're just waiting for Neal to marry and have a child, so KAS can shoot a follow-up to the image, with him standing by the truck, and his child in the same position on it, in the same location. Are you listening Chevrolet?
