Jason Kittelberger Photography Blog

A few days after Thanksgiving I hopped in my car and drove west. I wasn’t quite sure where I was going other than some vague notion I was heading toward West Texas. I’d been to West Texas once before and had briefly been through Big Bend National Park. But I’d recently seen No Country For Old Men and the cinematography inspired me. In my mind, West Texas was nothing but a barren, desolate, and almost inhospitable place. I remember in my earlier trip driving for what seemed forever and hardly seeing a soul, let alone anything man made besides the road I was on.

But after seeing No Country For Old Men, West Texas seemed oddly beautiful. The hills, the rocks, and the sheer vastness of it all, intrigued me. I’m not sure there is a lonelier place on earth. So I wanted to see it all again, and see if it was like I remembered. So there I was driving west on I-10 one dark morning. I started early, and making good time I made it past San Antonio sometime before 5:00 AM. When I stopped for gas at some empty gas station outside the city, I looked up to see an American flag blowing alone in the darkness.

I hadn’t planned on taking any pictures then, I just wanted to get some gas and get to wherever it was I was going. But instead I stopped and setup my tripod and took a roll pictures standing in the bed of my truck. It seemed fitting that my first roll of the trip was taken of this flag. It was kind of like a sign welcoming me West Texas. The image posted below is the third frame I shot on my trip west, and it’s the first image I’ve printed beyond the rough print stage. I ended up shooting hundreds more, and still have lots of pictures to sort through and print. But I thought I’d share this one now, and I hope to share others from my trip in the future.