Today we’d like to introduce you to Morgan Page and Dustin Rice.
Hi Morgan and Dustin, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
Bones of Texas is a collection of photographs and short stories that stretch across every region of the state. This project began as a date early on in our relationship about 4 and a half years ago. We’ve now traveled approximately 40-50,000 miles across the state visiting every region to document towns that have been left behind and research the people who lived there. In our research and Dustin’s writing, we like to focus on either events that happened to everyone in the town or in particular marginalized people including women and people of color, hoping to present a side of Texas history many may not be familiar with yet.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It may not have been a smooth road at all times, but certainly a fun and adventurous journey. The struggles or barriers we’ve faced at times are related to time mainly. We both have full-time day jobs and Texas is gigantic to say the least. We’ve had to plan family vacations and long weekends around our project so that we’re able to capture as many places as we can en route to wherever we are supposed to be.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
For “Bones of Texas,” we have been working primarily in photography and writing. We both photograph and complete a lot of research for our project, but the editing of our photos is primarily done by Morgan and the writing is completed by Dustin. Morgan’s has a long background in photography having studied it in undergrad and grad school. Dustin studied English in undergrad and has long enjoyed Texas history.
With regard to this project, we are most proud and securing a book deal with the University of Texas Press. We have a terrific editor there and we’ve recently submitted our finished book. We are now in the editing phase. We certainly didn’t realize a date could turn into a year’s long project that we’d be publishing one day. This project has grown with us over the years and we were married at the Rothko Chapel last December. We’re expecting our first child this December.
One thing that may set this project apart from other Texas travel or history projects is that we focus on towns that were mainly in their prime in the late 19th and early 20th century, and the individuals in our stories weren’t necessarily celebrated in their lifetime at all.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
When we began “Bones of Texas,” neither of us realized it would last as long as it has and become an obsession of sorts. At this time, we have nearly 6,000 photographs of Texas, and organizing and labeling them has been one of the most challenging aspects of this work. We wish we’d had the foresight to organize this project from the very beginning the way we have over the last two years, but again, we had no idea what was to come.
Contact Info:
- Website: bonesoftexas.com
- Instagram: bonesoftexas
Image Credits
Dustin Rice
Morgan Page
