Description
Photographer and freelance creator E. Dan Klepper spent seven years, on and off, living and working at Fresno Ranch. By 2008, when the 7,000-acre property used to be acquired by the Texas Parks and Natural world Department to develop into a part of Big Bend Ranch State Park, the adobe studio dwelling and its associated structures had been sitting vacant for just about ten years—many rugged miles from the nearest electrical power line or municipal water system.
Between 2006 and 2013, Klepper assisted his friend Rodrigo Trevizo, park ranger and caretaker for the property, with the quite a lot of chores required to keep the ranch in operating condition. The two excavated and repaired the primary water network, cared for the livestock, cleared brush, and maintained a small, solar-powered electrical system. Days of 110-degree heat, boiling water for washing and cooking, and keeping a wary eye out for rattlesnakes alternated with evenings spent in the flicker of kerosene lanterns, listening to the rasping of the ravens as they scoured the canyon in the gathering dark.
In vivid images and well-thought to be prose, Klepper reflects on his experiences at Fresno Ranch, “witnessing the unfolding of a wildlife unfettered by the overpowering human footprint that has dominated such a lot of of our remaining wild places.” For aficionados of fine art photography, cultural and natural history enthusiasts, and fans of the Big Bend region and its austere beauty, Why the Raven Calls the Canyon offers a provocative visual journal of off-the-grid living that celebrates the unique landscape of the Big Bend.