The adventures and various works of a photographer, road tripper, former patron of the local arts, aspiring app developer, and late night coffee drinker and conversationalist.
While the most notable early photographers operating out of Dallas have been documented, there are many for whom little to no information appears to have been preserved. These photographers and their studios present very challenging subjects for research, but that’s no reason to deny them their places in local history. With this installment in my Early Dallas photography series, I'm going to try to shine a light on those places in history, piecing together fragments of information found in the historical record.
This is a listing of notable restaurants and food establishments I've enjoyed in various cities across the United States and Canada. These were found during my various road trips, and represent
where I had a good personal experience with the food and/or service. In a sense, this is a list of recommendations and placed I would revisit, though it should be noted that individual experiences can vary across different time periods.
By early 2014, I'd been photographing live performances for a full seven years. Deep Ellum was "coming back," on the upswing again following a years' long period of decline. I was back where I had begun in terms of the types of venues and musical genres I was shooting, but my skill level had improved dramatically compared to the early days. The two years from 2014-2016 heralded the end of my regular activity in the scene, and a period during which I captured many of what I consider my best ever shots. The plug had been pulled on the Lost Art Open Mic in 2011, and after having largely turned my back on the spoken word scene by this time, my non-travel photography was once again singularly focused on live music. And, by and large, the live music was centered around a handful of bands with whom I had personal relationships. The bands were familiar, as were most of the venues by this time. But despite this, the act of shooting them with my camera often remained an adventure.
Rail Club, November 2013. Photo courtesy Metal Mina Pics.
