Jeff Wilson's Lonesome Dove photography

 

 

Jeff Wilson's photography career was born in the darkroom of his high school newspaper in Temple, Texas. After graduating from St. Edwards University he spent the better part of a decade working the trenches of state employment. At the Texas House of Representatives he worked on an ongoing documentary project photographing lawmakers during the legislative session. He soon amassed a brilliant catalog of images that were created on a work-for-hire basis and can never be published by him for money. This marked the last time he would ever be paid to shoot 35mm available light with nothing but a Leica and a bag of Tri-X.

At the Texas Department of Public Safety he traveled the state for six years as a Forensic Photographer. There he amassed a brilliant catalog of images he would rather not think too hard about. His work with blood spatter patterns has been called "adequate" by several DNA and Trace Evidence analysts. He subsequently worked for renowned photographer Dan Winters, who put him to work as his assistant for several years. Sequestered in Driftwood, Texas, under Winters' tutelage, Jeff developed his photographic skills, a strong work ethic and a penchant for Red Wings.

One of his not so recent works, a photo essay for Texas Monthly Magazine about Texas high school football stadiums, received a nomination for a National Magazine Award and was recently expanded into a book entitled "Home Fields" published by the University of Texas Press in the fall of 2010.

A more recent work for the afore mentioned Texas Monthly, a piece on Texas dancehalls, was a National Magazine Award finalist. Both times he lost to service pieces describing the best places to eat certain comfort foods within a given geographic area. With that under his belt, Jeff has developed a reputation amongst his pets as a reliable and amiable provider. His family is on the fence, but leaning toward "winsome." Jeff has been featured in the PDN Photo Annual and American Photography, and his photographs are included in the permanent collections of the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C. and the Wittliff Collection at Texas State University, as well as the foyers of several discerning South Austin collectors who live on his street.