Pontotoc Texas

Northwest of Llano on state highway 71 is the small crossroads village of Pontotoc. It has a few inhabitants, a winery which is the sole major business and a group of spectacular ruins from the nineteenth century. Besides the ruins there are many other interesting artifacts in the area to see and photograph. Fortunately the current residents are tolerant of strangers poking around.

The major ruins in the village are of the San Fernando Academy founded in 1882. It was short lived as a private academy but continued as a public school until around 1927. The area prospered for a few years at the beginning of the twentieth century. Then in the late 1940s a fire which started in the local movie theatre destroyed most of the commercial buildings in the town. Pontotoc never recovered.

There are ruins of residential buildings constructed of beautiful native stone just a hundred yards from the academy. They may have been occupied by school staff members. Within a couple of miles there are also historic cemeteries that are worth exploring. On good years the spring wildflower bloom is spectacular for fifty miles or more around the village. In winter the rolling hills reveal the richness that enticed many settlers to this country.

Pontotoc is well off the tourist track so you have to make an effort to get there. Seeing the well preserved ruins is an interesting day trip.

Union Band Cemetery Gate No1
Union Band Cemetery Gate No1

Golden

Hill Country General Store and Post Office
Hill Country General Store and Post Office
The climate of the Southwest preserves remnants of our past long enough for them to become alien to our modern selves. Less than a hundred years ago there was a thriving community of farmers and ranchers who depended on this general store and post office. They knew one another in ways that are uncommon in the modern urban world we live in. They were connected through generations of family ties.

Today the land is mostly empty. Sold and resold into larger parcels for factory farming or simply left fallow. A new generation of weekend gentleman ranchers has also returned to use the land for recreation. Unfortunately not in time to meet their neighbors at the general store.

It is tempting to romanticize the old Southwest. We should remember that people were not forced off the land. Instead they chose a better life for themselves with more opportunities for their children. These are simply the bleached bones left behind by progress.

Shooting the A7II in Luckenbach

Kristi Grider Onstage in Luckenbach
Kristi Grider Onstage in Luckenbach
Zuiko 135mm 3.5 @ f3.5
On Independence Day I drove up to Luckenbach with the A7II to shoot some outdoor music performances. To be honest I didn’t have high expectations of being able to use a manual lens to get decent shots. As expected the results were mixed but the manual lens was less of an issue than the camera firmware.

As has been reported numerous times elsewhere the A series cameras insist on using 1/60 second shutter speed when set to aperture priority and auto ISO with manual lenses. That behavior makes shooting any sort of moving subject problematic at best. In most ways the Sony is an outstanding camera but it falls down badly in this situation because you can’t set a minimum shutter speed in aperture mode. It is really too bad and disappointing for such a competent tool to behave this way.

All cameras have quirks and there are ways around the slow shutter speed problem with this one. You just have to change how you work with the camera. There are three variables that can be manipulated on this particular camera to get proper exposure. These are aperture, shutter speed and light sensitivity (ISO). Using some combination of the three variables provides a solution.

Two simple workarounds use either shutter priority or full manual along with auto ISO to achieve a proper result. Both are very similar when using manual lenses. Set the aperture on the lens, select the appropriate shutter speed and allow the camera to work out proper exposure by varying the ISO within a user selected range. As long as the camera can adjust sensitivity to achieve proper exposure you are good to go.

This is not a point and shoot solution. It requires the photographer be able to judge lighting conditions well enough to be able to select a shutter speed that keeps exposure within the ISO range the camera will use. The camera provides all the information you need to get proper exposure right in the viewfinder but the photographer is in control.

The point is that the photographer has to make decisions to ensure that the camera performs correctly to get the desired result. If you are unwilling to control the camera to get proper exposure then don’t shoot with manual lenses.

Kristi Grider Onstage in Luckenbach No2
Kristi Grider Onstage in Luckenbach No2