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EXQUISITELY BORED IN NACOGDOCHES:
The Photography of Chris Adams

By The Editor
Photos & Captions courtesy Chris Adams
In a not-so-recent interview with Calvin Trillin, the wry travel and food critic was asked what he would do differently if he “had it to do all over.” Sitting in the timeless Gran Café de la Parroquia in Veracruz, Trillin said his main regret was not slowing down and enjoying things - things like the coffee in front of him or the ceremony that produced it.
Henderson TX water tower and Sinclair service
Henderson water tower and Sinclair service station

Texas Escapes has always wanted to create a sort of “immediate intimacy” with towns across Texas. The attempt is to capture photos of architecture and artifacts of the past in hope it may bring a memory to a former resident or pique the interest of a reader that has never visited the place in question.

Over the years we would occasionally venture into the world of Flickr – a photographic wonderland where you enter with the heady anticipation of a school field trip but emerge pleasantly battered.

Our infrequent visits to Flickr were infrequent for that very reason. But each time we emerged from Flickr, one name stuck with us. Exquisitely Bored in Nacogdoches. We naturally noticed very familiar themes with EBIN, but there was something else about the array of signage, defunct businesses and forgotten streets. Something beyond the quality of a good photograph. Something we couldn’t quite put a finger on.

Purity Ice Cream neon sign in Galveston, Texas
Purity Ice Cream neon sign in Galveston
After thinking about it, we decided it came down to simple dignity.
The 25th Street Theatre in Waco, Texas
The 25th Street Theatre in Waco

When you look at the work of Chris Adams, notice the care that is taken to show the subject in a favorable light. It’s more than good composition – it’s giving dignity to the subject, inanimate though it might be.

The name EBIN belongs to Chris Adams, a born-on-the-island Galvestonian who fell in love with East Texas while attending college there. While some people can argue that it’s difficult to be bored anywhere in Texas there’s a difference in being bored and being “exquisitely” bored.
Chris Adams
Motel Neon sign in Henderson, Texas
Neon sign in Henderson
"I actually turned around to get this when I saw the shadow."
The photographs shown in this introduction are common themes on Texas Escapes although Mr. Adams style is his own. His nighttime scenes of small towns may well become his calling card and his store window series captures tawdry treasures as well as the crushing loneliness of mannequins.

Here’s to boredom – may it always be enjoyed exquisitely.
Malt n Burger Mart  Neon Sign in Rosenberg, Texas
Malt n Burger Mart in Rosenberg. "There is really nothing quite like a nice neon sign contrasted with a sunset or sunrise sky."
Caldwell County Courthouse in Lockhart, Texas
The Caldwell County Courthouse in Lockhart
Texaco in Wallis Texas
Texaco in Wallis
Sunglo Feeds ghost sign in Midway, Texas
Sunglo Feeds ghost sign in Midway
"I think traditionally, true ghost signs are supposed to be on brick buildings, but I really like the rays of sun on this one." - Chris Adams
Cowboy mural in Cameron, Texas
Cowboy mural in Cameron
7-Up sign in Port Arthur, Texas
7-Up sign in Port Arthur
Copyright John Troesser
Photos copyright Chris Adams
Find Chris Adams' photos in Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/exquisitelyboredinnacogdoches

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