Texas Through the Lens

Photographer Kenny Braun highlights the many, many natural wonders of the Lone Star State

Eight hundred miles. That’s the breadth of the country’s largest continental state—the distance from the Louisiana border in East Texas to El Paso in the far west. Within that span lie seven distinct and striking geological regions that comprise the chapters of photographer Kenny Braun’s latest photo book, As Far As You Can See: Picturing Texas. This collection of photos dates back twenty-three years, to when Braun began roaming the state as a freelance photographer. “It’s such a diverse state naturally,” Braun says, expressing a sentiment that comes through clearly on the pages of the book. From surfers on the Gulf Coast beaches near his childhood home of Houston to the hills around Austin, where he lives now, Braun’s photography traverses the wide-open Panhandle, the swamps of the east, the dramatic mountains of the west, and everywhere in between. “This book resulted from assignment work and personal work over the last twenty-three years,” Braun says. “It was a lot of fun—and a whole lot of miles.”