Camp Mystic, 2011: A Photographic Tribute

Before dawn on July 4th, heavy rains in Central Texas caused the Guadalupe River to surge 26 feet in under 45 minutes. As one of the deadliest floods in U.S. history, it has claimed over one hundred lives, including 27 campers and counselors from Camp Mystic. In the spring of 2011, I was sent on assignment for Texas Monthly Magazine to photograph the camp, its owners and the grounds. In the wake of this unfathomable tragedy, I’ve revisited these photographs and feel the need to share them.

Founded in 1926, Camp Mystic for girls has drawn generations of female campers from influential Texas families. Growing up in Austin, many of my childhood friends went to Camp Mystic every summer. They were legacy campers— their siblings and their mothers, even their grandmothers went there. I remember hearing that campers were graded on table manners and about the intensity of their tribal competitions. I myself went to Camp Longhorn, a couple of hours northeast on Inks Lake- a Texas institution as well, but decidedly a bit more rough around the edges. I assumed Mystic would be a special place, but what I found there was truly magical.

It was mid-May when I visited. Campers wouldn’t be arriving for another few weeks, but a place like this is so charged with memories, that even these empty photographs are teeming with activity. You can see cartwheels on the lawn, and bullseyes and face paint. You can hear giggling and splashing, and the dinner bell ringing. In the air are the camp songs that will be bittersweet melodies from now on. I am sad for so many reasons. I am sad for the immeasurable heartbreak that so many in my near circle are experiencing. I am sad that our climate and weather are becoming more and more erratic and dangerous. I am sad about the loss of an institution that has molded many of Texas's strong women leaders. And I'm especially sad for the campers. They were taken from this earth, pure in spirit and with nothing but potential.

On that perfectly hazy day in the golden afternoon hours I was convinced that this was the best place to be in Texas, if not the world.