Howdy!
I'm an amateur photographer named William Travis McCulley who lives in San Marcos, Texas. I work in Seguin, where I teach Web Mastery, Architecture, AutoCAD Drafting and Computer Applications.
I know at first, at least to the 'normal' person, it would seem a bit
weird there should be this guy... who wanders around all over the place
snapping photographs of manhole covers. But if you take a bit of time and
listen to my story... and look at the images I have collected through the
years... it begins to make better sense.
I graduated from Texas A&M University in 1986 with a degree in
Industrial Education, evidently a very rare and unusual degree these
days. Basically, an Industrial Education degree is about the same as an
Industrial Technology degree except that instead of taking business
management classes... I took curriculum development and education
coursework in preparation to teach. But generally, the core classes were
the same as the INTC degree. Subsequently, I took all sorts of cool and
groovy things in college like industrial ceramics, plastics, sheet metal
and structural metal fabrication. I took classes in jewelry making,
lapidary, woodworking, construction science, furniture design, graphic
arts and photography. In fact, I actually DID take a class in
basket weaving. (Although it didn't occur underwater.)
During the vacuum casting, sand casting and "lost wax" spin casting
portions of the jewelry making course I started to realize I had this
keen interest in casting. Any sort of casting... I liked it! This in
turn, led me into taking even more course work within the field of
industrial casting. There was just something about the idea of pouring
hot metal that appealed to me. I liked the way the forge sounded as it
burned. I liked the way it looked after the slag was skimmed off and the
flux cleared the surface in preparation for the pour. I loved the way it
shimmered and glowed when I reached in to lift the crucible... carefully
pouring the liquid metal into the prepared moulds. All of this... primed
me for a lifetime of observing and admiring industrial castings, patterns
and foundry process.
Then something amazing happened! One day... while wandering aimlessly
through a book store... I found a coffee table book of black and white
photographs featuring manhole covers. (Manhole Covers By: Robert A. Melnick)
Evidently I am not the only weirdo alive in the world!
It would seem there is at least one other in this exclusive club of mine. This gave me
hope... and encouraged me to look once again at the unsung texture and
diversity of industrial pattern and process waiting innocuously under our
feet every single day. The grills and grates... the faucets, spigots and
hose bibs... the door handles and gate latches... the stamped metal
electrical boxes and the lowly die cast lawn mower engine block... the
"common as dirt" meter box cover... and... the grand daddy of them all...
the manhole cover.
But my life was in turmoil… in spite of my notice of such things my passion had not yet jelled. That was yet to happen…
Time passed and still I found myself standing at red lights looking at
Bell System hexagons... Con-Ed cross hatching... or the universal
concentric rings of city services and storm sewer covers everywhere.
Then in
the early spring of 2001 I once again found myself in New Orleans.
Along
with all the architectural and cultural diversity that city typifies it
also boasts some classic vintage covers that are available nowhere else on earth.
The temptation was too great, on Valentines Day, while wandering the
Quarter, I finally succumbed and snapped this picture with a Kodak
disposable.
This in turn led me into collecting coloured pencil rubbings
featuring the distinctive and vintage New Orleans water meter box covers.
Imagine it! All around me, the rest of the world was focused on the
pending Mardi Gras and I'm camped out in the middle of the side walk
taking rubbings of meter box covers.
It didn't take me too long to realize that while Mr.
Melnick's photos were strictly of the covers themselves... my muse seemed
to be the covers cradled within the urban landscape. For me it was all
about placement... about the cracks in the sidewalk... about the texture
of the sun-blasted asphalt... the miss-oriented traffic markings... the subtle
accumulation of leaves around a cover or the available light on that particular day.
Photography is entirely about light. Without light... there would be no
life. Photography is about recording light and the contrast light
defines between itself and the darkness. Funny... for all it's power and
intimidation, the power of darkness has not the power to overcome even a single light’
Darkness is typified by void…
emptiness... nothingness. Of itself, darkness is without form and
therefore, lacks any defining shape. But light, defines gives boundary to the darkness. It is light… which creates the
endless play of colour and shadow which we perceive as the world around
us.
As a creature of Light. I have chosen to live in the Light. I am a
light collector... an archivist... a recorder of imagery... defined by
the light. So... having said such... witness the light I have seen...
and the pattern... the colour and the texture. Such as it is... as
limited, weird and skewed as it may be... that I should find my muse in these unsung icons of urban infra structure… this is my story.
These are a
few of the images I have recorded thru the years.
Take Cover...
Travis
10.06.04
As always, this website is continually under construction. Everything on this site is my original work and is copyrighted. If you are of dark heart... and are determined to steal the product of my creative work... More than likely there isn't anything I can do to stop you. But... I would could consider it a great favour if you respected my property... or at least asked before you copied anything.
If you have comments, requests or need to contact me...
Mail Me:
