BETWEEN HEAVEN AND TEXAS is dazzling. In a collection of meticulous prints, WYMAN MEINZER (who was proclaimed official state photographer in 1997 by then-governor George W. Bush) captures the limitless permutations of the Lone Star sky, from the serenity of cottony cumulus puffs to the bruising purple of a stormy sunset. The illusion of texture tempts you to run a hand across each page. A craftsman’s patience seems to be key; the sheer variety of skyscapes and horizons belies impossibly long stretches of time with a camera trained upward through rain and shine, day and night, sunrise and sunset. As with Meinzer’s earlier collaboration with writer John Graves, Texas Sky, complementary writings accompany these images: Texas Monthly writer-at-large Sarah Bird offers a typically wry meditation on clouds, and a host of poems, selected by Naomi Shihab Nye, illuminates the rest of the photos. The writings are intelligent and entertaining grace notes, but they can’t upstage the breathtaking visuals.
