Navasota

In 2014, at sunset, my parents and I pulled into downtown Navasota for pictures. I walked outside an abandoned hotel, carried my camera, and admired Railroad Street’s timeworn architecture.

Suddenly, a car stopped; a window rolled down, and a lady recommended a nearby railroad bridge for pictures. I said thanks. My parents and I drove endlessly in circles without any luck, but I knew that I would return someday to photograph Navasota’s bridge.

Navasota (pop. 7,500) is a community where two rivers merge in the Brazos Valley region of Texas. It began as a railroad shipping point for cotton circa 1860. Fast forward a hundred and fifty years, the community offered a residency program for artists, and in 2017, I stayed and built a temporary darkroom.