The Year in Photos
Texas Highways photographers share the stories behind the most outstanding outtakes of 2024
“This story was about high school football in Odessa: the Odessa Bronchos versus the Permian Panthers, the town’s only two high schools. What’s more exciting than throwing the football around before a big game? I had to sit on my knees, wait for the moment, and hope the young man caught the ball so I wouldn’t get hit.” —Christ Chávez
“When I saw this perfect combination of light, shadow, and steam, I knew right away it would make a cool shot. As brewer Suy Dinh checked on his Vietnamese moonshine, I positioned myself in a place where I could get a cool angle on the moment that was unfolding. The subjects at SuTi Craft Distillery near Fort Worth were great—super friendly and accommodating.” —Trevor Paulhus
“I wanted to call these gorgeous oaks the Grand Ladies. I couldn’t find a name for them online, but of the 10,000 trees in Hermann Park, these 100-plus-year-old live oaks made me sentimental for all the Houston families who played and picnicked under their boughs. I loved the glow from the Spanish moss and the big blue sky. Those two things helped deliver the grandness of the tree.” —Tiffany Hofeldt
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“At 83 years of age, Jose ‘Pepe’ Maldonado could be home resting, but instead he’s greeting patrons at La Lomita Park in McAllen. Pepe had just been released from the intensive care unit the week before. To my surprise, before taking his portrait, he asked the featured conjunto band to join him, and he played his accordion and sang two songs with La Naturaleza.”—C.C.
“Bears do whatever bears want to do. Moving lighting around as the subject moves and still capturing a good moment is a major challenge. Getting something out of that kind of shoot takes a lot of patience—and treats. This bear at Baylor University turned out to be pretty chill. Before the shoot, the handler advised me, ‘If one of them grabs your camera, just let them have it.’”—Jeff Wilson
“The vastness of the West Texas landscape is incredible—so open, with beautiful skies and light. I was accompanying my husband, Scott Dubois, while he was writing a story on Presidio. We were looking for areas that showed how the road snaked through the canyons. We had fun listening to Hank Williams and looking for good vantage points. Scott was scrambling up rocks to check out the view and almost stepped on a rattlesnake.” —Wynn Myers
“I attended a yoga retreat at El Castell on the Llano River. The facilitators utilized drums for meditative purposes, and I loved the vibe of this woman. I asked her to pose with her drum while I was inside a barrel sauna looking out through the panoramic bubble window. She walked back and forth numerous times until I was pleased with her posturing and placement in the frame.” —Theresa DiMenno
“In the background is Medicine Mounds, a spiritual home in the Red River Valley for the Comanche Indians. Bison once roamed this land. Now that cattle are the dominant herd, I wanted to show what the land would have looked like with these large roaming animals. It took patience. When this group saw me, they figured I had feed, so I had a close interaction.” —Dave Shafer
“The gentleman in the hat walking in downtown Brownsville had a striking appearance reminiscent of generations of Tejanos and Mexicanos who I knew or observed growing up. The hand that creeps into the frame is my father’s. My parents still live in the Valley, and while I was down there shooting, my father became my tour guide, helping me drive from place to place while sharing countless anecdotes from his experiences growing up in said places.”—JoMando Cruz
“This story was about the Pegasus Project, a horse rescue foundation near Ben Wheeler. When the horses ran, I tracked their motion. On this image, I was trying to follow the white horse when it ran behind another. I really like how the two mirror each other, especially their flying manes. I went into this shoot with ideas about images I wanted to get but some of the horses had their own ideas.”—Sean Fitzgerald
“This photo feels intimate, a quiet moment of a pitmaster checking on his process. Most of the photos from this set at Eaker Barbecue in Fredericksburg were shot on film. The day of this shoot was actually my birthday. The couple insisted I stay afterward and have a drink and eat. They were closed, and I stayed for another hour hanging out and talking all things barbecue.” —Jade Hammer
