Pride flags at the rodeo. Dykes and dive bars. Oil and water.

For queers in Texas, there’s something magical – sacred, even – in marrying things that the straight world deems incompatible.

Multimedia visual artist/space-maker extraordinaire Beth Schindler takes joy in merging these supposed opposites, paying tribute to the dirtbag gay culture that emerges in both shady corners and bright spaces. Also a heavy-lifting organizer of vital community events like Austin Dyke March and Lesbian Wedding, Schindler debuts her first solo photography show, “Like Oil & Water, We Look Good Together in a Parking Lot,” at Prizer Arts & Letters on Feb. 3.

“I’m from Texas – I love being in shitty dive bars, honky tonks, and scary gas stations,” explains native Austinite Schindler. “Those are the places where I feel super connected and that speak to me in so many ways, but I am 100% not safe there. As soon as more than one or two of us come together, we stick out pretty well.

“So, it’s really important to me to create those kinds of spaces where we get to be ourselves and not edit or censor ourselves – to just relax and have a good time.”

Captured on digital cameras and the artist’s trusty Yashica point-and-shoot, Schindler’s upcoming exhibit documents LGBTQ+ existence in spaces explicitly not designed for them. Car culture, from ostentatious trucker hubcaps to melancholic gas stations, serves as a major fixation, filtering the roadside romanticism of Ed Ruscha through a decidedly queer lens.

These seemingly mundane settings act as a backdrop for radical joy and resistance. For Schindler, the title of the exhibit speaks to the beauty of taking up space in an oftentimes hostile world: “It’s that thing that happens when oil and water get together in a parking lot specifically – it turns into this prism of beauty, and it’s organic, and it’s magical. It really resonated for me, especially considering how desperate we are for space.”

More important to the artist than where she takes photos is who she inhabits those spaces with. Part historical documentation, part love letter to her community, Schindler sees photography as a means of paying tribute to loved ones. One shot shows longtime partner/frequent collaborator Lex Vaughn defiantly trading faces with a lenticular lion’s head. Another shows Danielle Norris (aka DJ Trust the Wizard) smoldering poolside. With several taken at the plethora of sapphic spaces organized by the artist, Schindler’s collection provides a brief, beautiful look into a tight-knit community.

“I think [my] friends are really stunning and deserve to be out there, big and blown up and preserved for prosperity forever,” says Schindler, who founded lesbian analog photography collective Homo Photo Club alongside Gretchen Phillips and Deb Norris. “I’m a huge archivist – it’s a big part of my process and how I stay connected to my community and to our stories.

“Creating stuff that ideally and hopefully will one day be in those archives and showcase what this scene is really important to me, and I feel like this is a part of that.”

Like Oil and Water, We Look Good Together in a Parking Lot: Opening reception: Sat., Feb. 3, 6-9pm. Prizer Arts and Letters, 2023 E. Cesar Chavez. prizerartsandletters.org.

The anniversary show at the International Center of Photography, with 170 pictures, demonstrates how the camera can illuminate, persuade and puzzle.

When Ibarionex Perello first discovered photography at 10, the connection was instantaneous and binding. His lifelong passion has taken him everywhere, from the vibrant streets of Los Angeles to The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens’ extensive archives.

As a young boy living in South Los Angeles — just a few miles south of the University of Southern California and the Coliseum — Perello attended the Boys and Girls Club of Hollywood. In a fateful turn of events, his counselor took up the task of renovating the club’s abandoned darkroom, bringing in two freelance photojournalists to teach the kids how to process film.

“The moment I saw that print revealed in the developing tray, it was over. It’s all I wanted to do,” Perello said. “I’ve always been fascinated by photography and making pictures — pretty much obsessed exclusively with that all my life.”

While studying English Literature at the University of California, Berkeley, Perello joined the school’s newspaper, writing and taking pictures.

“It was a pivotal moment,” he explained. “It was the first time I discovered I was good at something.

“At that point, I knew that there was a viable way of making a career of doing something that I loved to do. I’ve never been a great planner, but I’ve been very blessed that my whole life has revolved around photography because I can’t imagine what it would be like if it didn’t.”

After graduating, he embarked on a varied career. Initially working at Nikon as a technical representative, he later transitioned to magazine editing for publications like Outdoor Photographer, Digital Photo Pro and Digital Photo Magazine. His passion for photography led him to author half a dozen books on the subject and teach workshops around the world. He has also taught at the Los Angeles Center of Photography and Artcenter College of Design.

Three years ago, he began his current role as a special projects photographer at The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens.

“At the time, magazine work was drying up,” Perello said. “It was a good time for me to do something different.”

Perello is one of four photographers tasked with documenting The Huntington’s archive, which includes art, books and historical ephemera. Some of the archive’s more notable artifacts include two copies of the Gutenberg Bible and letters from past presidents like Abraham Lincoln and George Washington.

Perello’s work plays a crucial role in preserving and making significant historical documents accessible to researchers worldwide. For example, over the past six months, his main task has been digitizing science fiction writer and Pasadena native Octavia Butler’s notebooks, which are “some of the most requested materials in the collections,” he explained.

Perello is also known for his podcast, “The Candid Frame,” which has been ongoing since 2006. The over 600-episode show focuses on the art and soul of photography. Through his interviews with renowned and emerging photographers, Perello delves into what it means to lead what he calls a “photographic life.”

“Sometimes that involves a photographer who’s a full professional editorial or commercial photographer, and then there are other photographers who are leading normal lives but are still producing exceptional work.” His interviewees hail from across the world and include photographers like Elliott Erwitt and Douglas Kirkland.

The show is Perello’s love letter to the craft and focuses less on technique than on the power of a single snapshot.

“I don’t focus a lot on equipment and gear,” he said. Instead, he hopes “that this show proves to be an important archive of photography and our times. The people I often talk to feel like they want to do something more than just make pretty pictures,” he continued. “There’s an underlying passion to want to say something and communicate something with people through their photographs.”

But more than anything, Perello said he hopes to inspire others to follow their photographic aspirations and grow confident in the power of their singular perspectives, just as he had all those years ago.

“What’s always driven me is that I could create something that would evoke a reaction in someone else — that the way I saw the world was validated. That’s what I felt as a kid,” he said. “That’s been my throughline throughout my career as a photographer, the idea that the way that I see the world is valuable and that it has and can have an impact.”

As photographers, creativity is in our nature. Whether we’re shooting glossy fashion editorials or capturing intimate moments on a couple’s big day, how you dress is important. There are some rules you absolutely must follow – no white at weddings, nothing that limits your movement, and never dress so avant-garde that you might be mistaken for the model. What no one ever asked for or needed (surely?) was a suit designed specifically for photographers to wear on shoots.

Is it rational for me to feel this irritated about a black suit? No, probably not, but am I anyway? Yes, absolutely. In all my years working as a photographer I have never heard of such a ridiculous product, but I have three main issues with Unix Tokyo’s Shooting Suits being sold by Bic Camera in Japan.

My first and biggest complaint is that they’ve tried to reinvent a timeless classic. When you get down to the nitty-gritty, it is just a black suit – though it’s made of four-way stretch material (which screams that it’s going to feel cheap) and includes larger pockets for storing an extra lens. The waistband is elasticated for comfort, and the trousers are tapered to fit, but ultimately you are buying a glorified tracksuit. 

It’s also disgustingly expensive for what it is. The jacket alone costs  ¥37,400 (approximately $255 / £200 / AU$390) and the trousers will set you back a further ¥20,900 ($140 / £110 / AU$215) – all for a non-branded suit. In the UK, men can buy a Ted Baker or Boss suit for not a great deal more, and you can be sure that the quality and fit would be far superior. 

You can also buy a plain white t-shirt for ¥11,000 Yen ($75 / £60 / AU$115) and a pair of knit shoes for ¥16,600 ($110 / £85 / AU$165) – which is more than a pair of all-black Converse. 

Last but not least, this suit is ugly – and that’s the cold, hard truth. You might not be the most fashion-savvy photographer, and that’s fine, but no one is so uncreative that they have to resort to a photographer’s uniform. While women have the luxury of choice when it comes to what to wear on photoshoots (think jumpsuits, baggy straight-leg trousers, long sleeve tops) for men a plain colored shirt and slacks are almost always appropriate. 

Most people will already own multiple outfits that would be suitable to wear on a photography job without having to invest in something purpose-made. 

I admit, I am shocked by how much this suit nonsense has riled me up. I am a self-confessed lover of fashion; I love how clothes are a form of expression, I love shooting fashion photography, and I love spending lazy Sunday mornings lost in the glossy pages of Vogue. I also love second-hand slow fashion, so this suit pretty much goes against everything I believe in. 

However, if you still want to see the suit for yourself and happen to be in Japan, the Shooting Suit will be on display on the first floor of the Bic Camera Store in Yurakucho, Tokyo, until March 31.

For more practical clothing items, check out the best gloves for photographers, the best waterproof jackets for photographers, and the best photo vests.