From There To Here: A year in review

I’ve had a sense of déjà vu for weeks. At the Pleasure Garden Blues Fest a few weeks back, I could see myself at last year’s event so clearly — shooting photos of the same people, enjoying the same great music, sweating through the same heat and smelling the same mouthwatering BBQ. That version of me didn’t know what was coming in a few weeks.

The evening of July 3, 2025 was beautiful. I spent it shooting wildlife in Louise Hays Park, out in abundance after an afternoon shower. Later, we photographed the stage, set up for Kerrville’s Fourth on the River. We were ready for a busy but fun Independence Day.

The first waking moments of July 4, 2025 were normal. That illusion shattered with the first call. Minutes later, Louise Hays Park came into view — incomprehensibly covered in more than 30 feet of rough waters. By then, more than a hundred people were already dead but we wouldn’t know that for some time.

We’ve told the stories of this flood for a year now. Our tragedy made worldwide news and the devastating losses of that day and those that followed are again being told for the one-year anniversary. We haven’t forgotten — and never will — but, we also want to look back through a different lens.

We want to focus on the work that was done and the people who did it, the countless hours from then until now, hours filled with tears and laughter, sweat and sacrifice. We want to look at what helped us get from there to here.