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.
Now that we're more than a month into 2026, it's past time to formalize my plans for the year as far as what I'm hoping to accomplish, and what I am in need of to achieve those goals. There are the usual resolutions having to do with improving my overall health and aspects of my social life, and, as with last year, there's the need to compile a list of items I need to be on the lookout for to realize my blog and various personal projects. And so, once again, I've compiled my list of "must have" and "would be nice" items that will help make those goals and aspirations a reality throughout 2026. If anyone is aware of a source for any of the following items, or has some he or she is willing to donate, potentially sell, or just allow the use of for various blog features and/or research projects, please reach out to me.
A little over fifteen years ago, I produced and released a compilation of recordings from Alex Pogosov's and my open mic at Bill's Records. This CD, ultimately numbering around 200-250 copies, was conceived as a means of promoting the weekly gathering at Bill's and featured performances by a number of our regulars up to that point in time. More than a decade and a half later, I've had that promotional album cut to vinyl, fulfilling a long harbored fantasy dating all the way back to childhood. I'm just barely old enough to (dimly) remember actual records being played on the radio, and when I was three and four years old I wanted to make one of my own. Today's manufacturing on demand services have now made that possible.
The Lost Art showrunners in 2010. Photo by Lilly Penhall.
Now that the new year is officially underway, it's time for my annual recap of the past year and confirmation of plans for the upcoming twelve months. 2025 saw a grand total of thirty-one blog posts, the first of them presenting a trio of ticket stubs for the former Capri Theatre in Dallas, and the final one picturing the ascent of the Bank of America building in downtown Dallas ascending into the morning fog. My original plan for the year was to publish blog updates weekly, a goal which was definitely attainable, but one which I ultimately fell short of meeting. The reasons for this are varied, but in short they had to do with time requirements involved for multiple deeply researched posts, outside commitments, and, by the latter part of the year, personal considerations outside the scope of this blog. I stopped work almost entirely for over a month late in 2025, and between October and December, only three blog posts were made, two of them being very low effort. I started off the year stronger than I finished it.
Corner of Elm Street and Hawkins in Dallas, Texas, courtesy DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University
Collecting vintage and antique photos is a pastime of mine, and I have an interest in local (mostly Dallas) history. Combining these two interests together into an exploration of early Dallas photography and photography studios thus came naturally to me. This series will cover the history of Dallas-based photography through the beginning of the 20th century, telling the story through both historically-minded blog posts and authentic historical images.
There will be no regular blog post this week, as I'm hip deep in research and interviews for a few upcoming pieces I am excited about publishing. Instead, I'm going to give a quick update on what's been going on behind the scenes. Over the past several weeks, the dam has burst as far as the "Ghosts of DFW music history" blog series. Thanks to a few very important new contacts, I've been able to procure a treasure trove of valuable information concerning a trio of west side music venues of the 1980s, and have been given access to another trove of reminiscences and potential illustrative content for these and another set of venues I'm researching on the east side of town. I've also made enormous gains when it comes to getting access to hitherto unpublished information about one venue in particular which I am very excited about. I think these will be worth the wait.
Aside from the "Ghosts" series, work also continues on a few other long-term blog projects, some of which have been in the pipeline for as long as a year or more. I expect to have these completed and published sometime during the summer. All this means that 2025 should be the best year to date for this blog, not to mention a good year for finally getting out a lot of other content that's been on the sidelines for years - more concert photos and other photo galleries, more road trip travelogs, maybe even additional old footage of the local scene (working on this!). I also expect to roll out a long-needed e-mail newsletter by the start of next week so I can (hopefully) drive engagement for the website as a whole. Overall, when it comes to projects, things have been very productive as late and will continue to be so for quite some time. I originally created this website in 2008 as a showcase for my work, but it's never really shown its true potential until now. Here's looking forward to a productive and fulfilling next chapter.
