Mexico and Central America have been the focus of Gene Paull. He has been traveling extensively in the area since 1965. He has tried to record images of both the cultural and physical environment before acculturation and environmental degradation have altered the landscape.

 

Here in the Lower Rio Grande Valley he tries to record natural events such as hurricanes, cloud formations, and riverine environments. Dr. Paul has done this through photography, emphasizing color and tradition. Specifically he has recorded images of the Guatemalan highlands, traditional Mayan ethnology, and the Pacific Ring of Fire. While full time faculty member at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (now semi-retired), he took numerous field trips into La Huasteca, an indigenous area of La Sierra Madre Oriental in northern Mexico. His goal is to capture the immediate image, focusing on the moment, as opposed to the more technical aspects of photography.

 

His equipment has been mainly Nikon 35 mm - both film and digital. He still uses film to create a more “organic” image. Dr. Paull received a Ph. D. In anthropology, with a minor in geochronology, from The University of Arizona in 1976. He taught at what is now The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley full time from 1976-2014. Currently he is an adjunct (part-time) retired faculty member of the School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, teaching General World Geography and Geography of Latin America.