- NARRATOR: The Texas Parks and Wildlife Television Series is supported in part by Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation -- conserving the wild things and wild places of Texas, thanks to members across the state.

Additional funding is provided by Toyota.

Your local Toyota dealers are proud to support outdoor recreation and conservation in Texas.

Toyota--Let's Go Places.

Coming up on Texas Parks & Wildlife... - Jetty systems in Texas are very accessible to all anglers.

All you need is a fishing license and basic fishing equipment.

- White spot is a very deadly disease.

It can kill shrimp within 24 hours.

- The trailer camera is a 16-foot box trailer that I turned into a giant camera and darkroom.

[theme music] ♪ ♪ - NARRATOR: Texas Parks & Wildlife, a television series for all outdoors.

[waves rumbling] [upbeat country music] - My brother got into saltwater fishing.

I'd follow him out to the beach and I'd fish with him, and fell in love with it and decided to move out here and make it permanent.

Saltwater fishing from the jetty is so much fun because there's always gonna be fish here.

This is where you wanna go if you wanna get onto some good fish.

This mullet looks like he already got bit by something.

See there?

Okay, let's get him.

♪ ♪ Wouldn't it be cool if you cast it out and got a fish on immediately?

I wish it was like that every day.

♪ ♪ Feeling the rod bend and hearing the reel scream and not knowing what's gonna be on the other end is a major adrenaline rush.

I love it.

No, get off that rock, get off of it.

Come on, come on, come on, come on.

It's like Christmas morning when you don't know what you're gonna get, but you're just excited to open the presents.

That's how it feels every time I reel in another fish.

I think it's a gafftop.

Gonna throw him back in.

♪ ♪ - A jetty is a pile of rocks that's placed at either side of a pass from the Gulf of Mexico into our bay systems and that pile of rocks prevents the jetty from silting in and closing up with sand.

In between those rocks are what we call interstitial spaces, little holes and hiding places in the rocks.

And it provides hiding places for lots of little bait species and in turn that attracts larger predators.

And so you get a really diverse mix of species that occupy a jetty system.

Jetty systems in Texas are very accessible to all anglers.

Basically all you need is a fishing license and basic fishing equipment.

You can come fishing and expect to catch all kinds of fish.

It's really neat because it's really a great opportunity for anglers to get a chance at both inshore and offshore species.

[upbeat music] [acoustic guitar music] - I've been moving around to different states and just fishing around, trying out different areas.

And there are so many fish compared to any other places that I've been so far.

Jetty fishing is just, you're close to the water, you get more action, and you can see the fish.

It's also the first step to exploring fishing.

Just, I love the feeling of catching fish.

There are so many fish here, they're just everywhere.

- ONLOOKER: That's beautiful.

- DEREK: I was lucky enough to catch a nice size, it was about a 30-inch black drum.

[fish splashing] [waves crashing on jetty] [upbeat music] - JEN: I like to come out here and get to meet new people while you're fishing.

Yeah, I got a fish on.

Everybody out here is just super nice.

Whoa, we need a net.

Does anybody have a net?

Oh, my God, it's huge.

It may fit that whole net.

- That's all right.

- I'm bringing him your way.

I'm gonna have to pull it by hand 'cause, oh, it's a drum, black drum.

Wow.

Look at the size of that fish.

Woo-hoo!

Thank you so much.

It was really exciting to see it.

It ended up being 35 inches, too.

It was a good day.

[upbeat music] Hi, I'm Greg Akins with Texas Parks and Wildlife, Aquatic Education Specialist.

I want to talk to you guys today about saltwater fishing.

You're going out saltwater fishing, you're going to need heavy duty gear.

Your popping cork is designed to be able to be a floater for your rod.

It actually moves up and down the line, freestyling on the line as you drop it down in the saltwater.

One of the reasons people use these popping corks is because they're fishing with live bait.

- ANGLER: We want one about that size for fishing.

That right there, put it back.

- GREG: And of course, once that fish sees that bait with this live bright, bright orange popping cork making that noise, they then, of course, are drawn to the bait at the end of the line.

Live bait is a great tool to utilize when you're fishing because a live shrimp in the water is, of course a great attention getter for a redfish or a flounder.

- ANGLER: That's it.

That's how it's done.

Woo.

A 38-inch bull redfish all day long.

- GREG: I prefer to use hard water lures because they are a conservation effort where we don't utilize natural resources to catch natural resources.

This is actually a mid-level water lure.

It's mimicking a smaller species of a fish.

This is also another great one.

It also has that rattler in there to make that noise so that the fish feels those vibrations.

So, these are actually lower level.

This is a mid-level rattler here.

It's actually has the rattling noise in it, inside of it.

It also is great for catching mid-level fish.

Of course, these are swimmer lures.

Swimming lures actually mimic the fish and move in the same direction as they're pulled in the water.

Now you're ready to head to the Gulf of Mexico to enjoy your saltwater fishing adventure.

- BIOLOGIST: It's a good day for sampling.

- JILLIAN SWINFORD: It is a good day for sampling.

- NARRATOR: It's early summer and shrimp are the hot topic along the Texas coast.

Biologists are worried about some nasty shrimp bugs, Black Gill disease... - JILLIAN: Black Gill, it actually weakens them.

- NARRATOR: ...and White Spot Virus.

Harmless to humans, but scary for shrimp.

- White Spot is a very deadly disease.

It can kill shrimp within 24 hours.

- Shrimp look good!

If you had White Spot, ya know, if it was very prevalent, you'd see it right in here in the shell area.

- NARRATOR: For those that rely on shrimp for their livelihood... - A quart of shrimp.

- NARRATOR: A virus that wipes out their bread and butter-- that's a real concern.

- It's a domino effect, ya know, our grocery stores, the people that sell shrimp, the people that eat shrimp.

Ya know, the people that catch shrimp.

I really hope that doesn't infect our waters, ya know.

Get her out there!

And it is scary!

- NARRATOR: Shrimp are worth millions to the Texas economy, so protecting the resource and all who depend on it calls for some serious shrimp science.

- So, I'm hoping for some slightly bigger ones.

It's a lot easier to dissect a bigger shrimp than it is to dissect one that's this small.

- NARRATOR: Jillian Swinford is checking bays up and down the Texas coast, taking samples.

- JILLIAN: This big statewide survey that we are doing is very new to Texas, and this is the first time that we've really been looking for Black Gill and it's been a while since we've been looking at White Spot disease, so I think it's time to take another look.

- We'll run a little shallower water this time.

- JILLIAN: Ok. - White Spot disease has been found in Wild Prawn stocks off Morton Bay.

It's another major blow to Queensland's $300 million dollar seafood industry after the harmful virus devastated prawn farms in the southeast.

- NARRATOR: White Spot hit Australia in 2016.

- JILLIAN: White Spot is a disease that came from shrimp farms.

You'll have 100% mortality.

- BIOLOGIST: Let's go ahead and pull it in!

- JILLIAN: We're worried about it getting into the ecosystem, either through runoff from the farms or by using bait shrimp that's been imported.

- NARRATOR: While White Spot hasn't been detected in Texas yet... - BIOLOGIST: That's a much better trawl!

- NARRATOR: ...Black Gill is here.

- What we're looking for in these shrimp are clinical signs of disease.

They would have darkened gills, but just because they don't have any discoloration, doesn't mean that the disease isn't present in their system.

So that's why we gotta take these guys back to the lab.

Right now, I am removing the gill tissue.

It just likes to stick!

And with this gill tissue, we're going to extract DNA, and if the diseases that we are looking for are present, hopefully we can find them in the gill tissue.

[intriguing music] Ultimately, I mean, the work I'm doing is to try to help the populations we have and kind of monitor, ya know, how much disease we're getting each year.

- NARRATOR: Linked to changes in water temperature or salinity, Black Gill is a parasite that weakens the shrimp's immune system.

- So, it is a concern, because these shrimp are ultimately weaker, and so they may be more susceptible to dying because they have this.

- NARRATOR: While Black Gill has been here for a while... - See what we got here.

- NARRATOR: ...the deadly White Spot virus is a relatively new threat.

- ROBERT: Ah, looking real healthy, good.

We've never had this happen ever, ya know, in the Gulf Coast or Texas.

- NARRATOR: The easiest way to keep White Spot out of our bays... - How you doing, can I get one pound of shrimp please?

- NARRATOR: If you need bait shrimp, shop local.

- ROBERT: The best thing for the anglers to do is just make sure they're using Texas or Gulf of Mexico shrimp, any of our native shrimp are great to be used, the browns, the pinks, the whites.

Just want to make sure you're not using any kind of foreign or imported shrimp whatsoever.

- Appreciate it, thank you!

- NARRATOR: Foreign farm-raised shrimp bought from the store are often not tested for White Spot.

- ROBERT: In other countries, they are not regulated like we are here in the U.S., and when they get shipped into the U.S., very little get checked, ya know, to see what's going on with them.

- NARRATOR: So that foreign shrimp should be cooked, not put on a hook.

- It doesn't affect humans.

We can eat it all day long.

But somebody's going to use that shrimp for bait and when they use that shrimp for bait, then it infects our waters and so now we've got it.

Pop it a couple times and let it sit.

- NARRATOR: Sterling Branscum has been a fishing guide for close to a decade.

- You make friends for life!

Ya know, fishing with people, and I really enjoy it.

- ANGLER: Ohhhh!

Got em!

- STERLING: Fish on!

For all that to go away, over a virus that could be controlled, ya know.

if something like that did happen, it would just be terrible.

That's probably a 18,19.

I would just like to see that not happen, ya know!

- NARRATOR: So that's why Jillian's out on the water.

- JILLIAN: Yeah, we got plenty!

- NARRATOR: Getting a baseline, working to protect a resource we all enjoy!

- The main takeaway is that this can have a very real environmental impact.

The shrimp are important commercially, recreationally, but they are also important to the ecosystem as well.

So, we're trying to get ahead of this while we can!

[boat motor rumbles] Celebrating a century of Texas State Parks.

[upbeat energetic music] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [light wind blowing] - I'm Ian Kasnoff and I'm the creator of the Trailer Camera.

Setting up for my solo show, about the trailer camera.

Some people coming tonight to check out this stuff, hopefully there will be people here.

It's more about the process of the trailer camera I think.

[hammering] At least it is for me.

I'm a production designer in the film business, mostly television commercials and short documentaries.

And a photographer as well.

Kind of a multi-tool of a production person.

- DIRECTOR: Action!

[wood crashing] - DIRECTOR: Nice.

- It supports my photography addiction.

- NARRATOR: Ian Kasnoff lives near Austin, Texas with his wife, two kids, a dog, and a lot of stuff that he collects.

- I do have a lot of things happening at my little compound.

Nice pole barn.

This is my Silver Streak.

An Airstream project.

My office sanctuary.

Storage for unused things.

Got the trailer camera of course.

- All right, just straight now!

- IAN: The trailer camera is a 16-foot box trailer that I turned into a giant camera and darkroom.

- ADRIAN: All right, stop.

- IAN: It's basically a Polaroid camera on steroids.

So I climb inside the trailer camera, there's a lens sticking out of the back, focus an image on a surface inside the camera.

Then I will expose the paper with a very crude shutter.

From there I'll take the paper, and I'll put it through a developer, a stop bath, a fix, and a rinse.

Six or seven minutes later, I'll have a giant print.

It's not easy to approach photography this way.

- NARRATOR: Ian started taking pictures back in the days before digital cameras, when images were captured on film.

- When I was a kid, a roll of 24 photographs meant something.

You really had to make each one count.

And years later when you get into digital it was great because you could just snap happy, you could go around and shoot tons and tons of stuff, and then realizing that I'm taking 7,000 images in five days, and you're spending all your time at a computer.

You know why did you take all the rest of them?

And it's because you can.

Uh, so these are basically scouting photos for the Bastrop State Park.

- NARRATOR: And that is the idea behind the trailer camera, shoot fewer pictures, but make each one count.

And in the end, you get an actual, physical print.

- This is picture of a, out at a lake, a stock tank in Blanco.

Wyman Meinzer.

A portrait of his sons.

Adrian Whipp.

Spencer Peoples.

A girl named Kelly.

This is my wife.

She's going to love that I'm showing this.

I think it's a beautiful picture.

- NARRATOR: The trailer camera is great for shooting portraits, but Ian wanted to shoot some landscapes as well.

That led to a series of photographs at some of the more scenic state parks throughout Texas.

- IAN: So I'm not sure how many Texas state parks there are, I've been to probably a dozen.

Each one is so unique and so beautiful, they all have a really beautiful photographic opportunity.

You guys have that map right?

It's been 15 years since I've been to Enchanted Rock.

It's so breathtaking, there's so much to it.

I was getting distracted by some of the features, the geography.

I mean I wanted to stop and shoot everything.

This is developer.

Shadows, I'm getting up to 4-seconds.

Couldn't have asked for better conditions.

Three, two, one.

Wow.

I never knew there was a little lake back there.

It's pretty cool, huh?

Instead of just like a perfect photograph that exposes everything really well, I kind of wanted a high contrast, high key image, to where you could even turn the photograph vertically and it's more of an interpretation of the space.

To me it has an almost other worldly feel to it.

It is bright.

So then next we shot at Bastrop State Park.

I'm going to do one second at F-32.

I did a portrait of one of the park rangers there.

Hold that nice and steady!

He was kind enough to sit for us and endure the agony that is getting shot with this thing.

Alright, relax!

Portraits are really tough with this camera.

You have to sit still quite a bit.

A lot of do-overs.

Perfect.

It's really revealing.

Everything kind of becomes a case study, a character study.

You see things in it that you just don't see with your naked eye.

[fire crackling] I think everybody who knows Bastrop State Park knows about the fires and knows how devastating it was.

Bastrop is really striking when it's full, old growth, and it was really striking when it was the burned trees.

At the point that we got out there, is was kind of neither.

But what I did really notice is the CCC buildings.

So I got the idea to go search around and look at some of these buildings, and I found there's a look out up top, and when I was doing my test photograph, I lined it real square, real symmetrical, real centered.

And as I did that there was a sapling growing up right, as you look right through, just one little sapling.

So I felt that here's this building that has stood the test of fires, floods, time, and then you have this little bit of life, the rebirth of Bastrop State Park in the back.

I think Bastrop is still a beautiful park, one of the best ones around.

- NARRATOR: Ian made a few more stops on his state park odyssey.

At Caddo Lake, he made the first really large prints of the series.

At Palo Duro, rapid changes in the weather resulted in two similar, but very different photographs.

By the time Ian got to Davis Mountains State Park, he was on his fourth focusing screen, his sixth lens, his second truck, and his third trailer.

- IAN: I experienced one of those moments where I thought, this is so hard, this is so ridiculous, I'm just making my life miserable by trying to make photographs with this thing.

I just kind of was like, "Well, nothing else is working.

So, let's just do something that shouldn't work."

- NARRATOR: The result, perhaps the most striking landscape of the series.

- IAN: The way that the mountains and the valley and the hills are kind of edge lit and then you have this like, kind of, sliver of glowing sky and then it just transitions into these clouds and sky that are so rich and so dramatic and vibrant.

The kind of photograph I wanted to make with this thing, I was finally holding it in my hand.

I realized that I'd finally done it.

It's crazy what these four wheels and a steel box have done, how great it's been.

It is a 16-foot long, 7-foot wide, 6-and-a-half-foot tall trailer.

Yeah.

I also bought a bigger truck during this.

[laughter] - NARRATOR: A year and a half after he started work on the state park series, Ian put together his first exhibition of the trailer camera photographs.

It probably won't be his last.

- IAN: This process of shooting with the trailer camera has really made me a better photographer all around because it's make me much more selective about the time I'm spending, not just making an image, but also what am I going to do with it afterwards.

I'm going to put it on a matte board and make a beautiful framed print and I'm going to hang it up and someone's going to love it.

It's going to be a work of art that someone is going to appreciate.

[inspirational music] [waves lapping] [waves lapping] [waves lapping] [waves lapping] [waves lapping] [waves lapping] [waves lapping] [waves lapping] [waves lapping] [waves lapping] - NARRATOR: This series is supported in part by Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation -- conserving the wild things and wild places of Texas, thanks to members across the state.

Additional funding is provided by Toyota.

Your local Toyota dealers are proud to support outdoor recreation and conservation in Texas.

Toyota--Let's Go Places.