Prosper, Texas
By J.R Ball
25 September 2008
What city do you live in? What neighborhood?
Just down the road. You'll find it.
What are some adjectives that describe your neighborhood?
Rural, Americana, America, Country.
How long have you lived there, and what brought you there?
After a series of unforeseen events, I found myself saying goodbye to my adopted-hometown of Austin, Texas. I was forced to "relocate" and move back in with my folks, who live in a small town about an hour north of Dallas. I saw leaving Austin as an artistic death sentence. Little did I know just how much creative direction I would find in the expanse of open fields and dilapidated barns.
Drive in any direction and you'll find a town that time has left behind. There's a quiet honesty about the country and it's people that doesn't try to disguise itself in Prada shoes and self-tanner. For someone who's spent all his life living in cities, it's refreshing.
What is your favorite thing about this place? Your least favorite?
On a rainy day you can find shelter in a ramshackle barn, and you can always find solace in the honesty of a rusted pickup.
My least favorite part? Trying to persuade friends to visit. That first part doesn't usually cut it.
Do you feel that you belong there?
Sometimes it feels like all of this rural abandon is just for you; all yours to find. Which might be true because, quite often, you're the only one around.
What is the most common misconception about where you live?
That it's part of Dallas. Let me tell you, it isn't.
What is a special fact about your city that you have to live there to know?
Jesse James, his brother Frank, and the rest of The James Gang once frequented these parts. I do believe they had some hiccups with the law.
What aspect of your city do you secretly love?
The stillness.
Anything else you'd like to add?
My iPod holds a ridiculous amount of songs. Regardless, I only listen to three artists: Whiskeytown, Neko Case and Wilco. I drive around, armed with a manual film camera as old as I am, and find visual translations of the imagery that is conjured through their lyrics.
It makes me feel connected to the place and I live and appreciate the impact the country has had on countless artists that came before.
26 Responses
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On 25 September 2008 Jason Vaughn said:
Traveling through small towns is so great and it seems like you found some great things to photograph!
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On 25 September 2008 Lisa Arhontidis said:
I live in the area and can totally relate to the stillness of it all up here. It's funny how far away you feel yet how close we really are to "the city". I love this story and really hope to see it in JPG!!!
Lisa -
On 25 September 2008 Lisa Arhontidis gave props:
FANTASTIC images by the way!!! Americana is so beautiful, and you have really captured that beauty!!
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On 25 September 2008 Ben Taylor said:
This is nice, J.R. I spent some time in North Texas in college (UNT!) and miss it like crazy. Great story. Hope it makes the mag.
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On 25 September 2008 Ben Taylor gave props:
I agree with Lisa too!
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On 25 September 2008 Meg Garza said:
love it!
clever too :-)
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On 25 September 2008 Trisha Bailey said:
ive never been to texas but i really like the black and white photos u take. great job.
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On 26 September 2008 Mark Faulkner said:
Howdy Cowboy! Now lets read this in JPG!
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On 26 September 2008 Beth Pickering said:
I like "solace in the honesty of a rusted pickup". Sounds like a very romantic idea of the west.
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On 26 September 2008 Stacey Farrell said:
I have lived in larger urban areas most of my life, too, and find myself now in a fairly small city in a rural part of Texas. After three years of living here, I have begun to fall in love with a place of which I never would have dreamed. Thanks for sharing these insights from your perspective.
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On 26 September 2008 Stacey Farrell gave props:
Nice photos as well. I hope to see this published!
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On 26 September 2008 J.R Ball said:
Thanks everyone!
It's nice to know that there are other's like me who appreciate the beauty in all this "ruralness". -
On 26 September 2008 John Hanna gave props:
Great story and pics, Jon... love it!
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On 26 September 2008 Kristee McClenan said:
I can understand your love of the small town America and country life as you've found it. Growing up in cities and then suddenly finding yourself in the country is like being from another planet. Then suddenly you find it's like you've "come home". Like you were away and now you've found your way home. Well Dorothy, it's not Kansas but it's Country Life! You have portrayed rural life as it really is. Simple and Sweet. Bravo Sir, I believe this should be published.
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On 26 September 2008 Dee Brown gave props:
You've got my vote too. Nothing wrong with country life and Texas, You said it all Kristee.
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On 26 September 2008 Tuk Nguyen gave props:
super western photos and story!
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On 27 September 2008 Donna Beeler said:
Great story J.R and photos too. It really sums it up. There is nothing like the peace of the country. I am just east of you so I understand the love of Texas and the love of the countryside.
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On 27 September 2008 Amanda Means gave props:
You hit the nail on the head with this one!! That is how it feels here in the panhandle as well. You have capture the feeling of small town Texas!!
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On 27 September 2008 Georgia Ball said:
It captures you from the start,it's different than most I've read,because it takes you right to Prosper,not only visually but also emotionally.This has all the ingredients to INSPIRE!
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On 28 September 2008 Lynne Weinberger said:
Jon, You're eloquent and elegant. Your work is beauty, honesty and integrity in an awe-inspiring package. (....neatly tied with balin' twahhhn). I vote for publication!!
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On 28 September 2008 Jennifer D. said:
Love your story and I can totally relate. It's also nice to read so many others can relate to it as well. I've lived most of my life in big cities and just a couple of years ago moved to a small town. Before I couldn't picture myself in a small town, but I love it here. There is such peace out here and the slower pace of life is refreshing. Thank you for the story and beautiful pictures.
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On 2 October 2008 J.R Ball said:
A sincere thank you, ladies and gents.
I really appreciate it that so many of you contibuted your own thoughts and feelings about country life and small town Americana.
Much obliged, I am. -
On 2 October 2008 Landon Gilbert gave props:
I lived in Prosper in the summer of 2005 so I have a good idea of what you are going through... Ha Ha..
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On 5 October 2008 Michael Garrity said:
Great story and photos--I find myself doing much the same thing in my neck of the woods--here in Ohio--I divide my time living in a modest sized city and out in a semi-rural area and I dearly love staying off the interstates and even the main state roads these days, "bushwhacking" down the country roads in the rural counties of the state--my camera close at hand, of course!
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On 9 October 2008 Britt Brown said:
Small world - I used to live off of 380, a little closer to Denton. You've described the area perfectly, beautifully. I live in Tennessee now, but how I miss driving from one small town to the next in the midst of all that "quiet honesty". If you ever get the chance, and haven't already, head west on 380 as far as you can.
Hope to see this printed. -
On 12 October 2008 Brandt Hughes said:
Crazy, I live just off of Preston, right in the middle of Prosper. I should really get out more often, love your b&w processing.
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