| Nationality: | American |
| Occupation: | Photographer |
James H. Evans is a U.S. photographer. Born in West Virginia before moving to Marathon, Texas, Evans' work focuses on documenting the West Texas area through subject, landscape, and portrait photography. He is best known for his work within Big Bend National Park.
Evans worked in Philadelphia and New Jersey, photographing drag races and taking portraits of the drivers. He was the official photographer for United Bracket Racing Association (1975–1979). He later moved to Corpus Christi, Texas and then to Austin, where he worked on commercial and product photography.[1] After visiting Big Bend National Park, Evans moved to the small town of Marathon, on the outskirts of the park, in December 1988.[2]
Evans' work includes traditional landscapes, night-scapes, and portraits of inhabitants in the Big Bend area. In 2003, Big Bend Pictures, Evans' first book, was published. He published his second book, Crazy from the Heat, in 2011.[3] His work was initially shot using film, primarily black and white, square format with a Hasselblad camera. In 2008, the Weston Galleria Hotel in Dallas commissioned him to supply photographs for their hotel, which led him to begin shooting digitally.
In 2013, Evans was hired by a Texas businessman to photograph his family's ranch. The timetable of the project allowed Evans to document the ranch throughout all four seasons. The final 100+ photographs were exhibited in the mansion on the ranch property.[4]
In 2015, Evans documented the so-called "100 year bloom" in and around Big Bend National Park, which was featured in Texas Monthly.[5]
Big Bend Pictures (published 2003, foreword by Robert Draper) is a collection of Evans' work in the Big Bend area spanning 1989-2002.[6] The book contains not only landscapes of Big Bend National Park, but also portraits of locals and subjects.[7]
Big Bend Pictures received much publicity, including a feature in Texas Monthly (2003), a spot in Rounce & Coffin Club Western Books Exhibition (2004), and the Southwest Book Award from the Border Regional Library Association (2003). It entered its third printing in 2014.
Crazy from the Heat (published 2011, foreword by Rebecca Solnit) is Evans' second book, including work spanning 20 years of living in the Big Bend Area.[8] The images included vary between "magnificent color landscapes and panoramas, dramatic night work, sensuous nudes, and vivid portraits."[9]
Beginning in 1990, Evans' work has been regularly featured in Texas Monthly, and he is currently a contributing photographer for the publication. Some of his portraits published in Texas Monthly include Cormac McCarthy,[10] Susan Combs, Elmer Kelton, Henry Thomas, and Robert James Waller. In 2011, in an article about the 2011 Texas wildfires, Evans covered the Rockhouse Fire between Ft. Davis and Alpine in a series of panoramic images.[11] The March 2003 issue featured an essay, "Chasing Shadows" by John Spong, accompanied by Evans' personal work. "Dirt and Light", featured in the February 2011 issue, included a photographic essay of Evans' color panoramas,[12] and another issue and web article ("Light in the Darkness" 2006) featured an essay detailing Evans' night work.[13] In September 2014, the magazine ran an online article (Ranch Project) about a year-long photographic project Evans had just completed.
12. Texas Monthly January 2023 https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/the-untold-story-of-the-insular-texas-family-that-invaded-the-u-s-capitol/13. https://foltzgallery.com/artist/james-evans