For Rent? ::

This is a lot where an old shack was torn down several years ago and I'm not sure just what is for rent here!

The Little Guard! ::

Merry Christmas!

And a very Happy New Year to all!

The Happy Rat ::

I came across this business a couple of weeks ago while out driving around. The name of the business just rolls off the tongue, but, unfortunately, it seemed to be long closed!

Auto Sales Lot Decorations ::

I saw some information a couple of days ago about a new Western Digital 3 terrabyte hard drive that will be going on sale soon. I don't currently have a need for a drive that large, but it's interesting just how much storage technology has advanced in the past 10 years or so!

A Scene With A View ::

This is about as scenic as it gets in Morgan City!

A Grave Marker For A Veteran Of Our Revolutionary War ::

Slapping My Head! ::

Yesterday morning I came across an interesting scene, shot a couple of exposures, and drove off. I grabbed the camera yesterday evening to download the photographs and, lo and behold, there was no CF card in the camera. I had had it out downloading over the weekend and had forgotten to put the card back in. I'll go back to the scene hoping that it has not changed after today's rain ends, but you can bet that I've learned a valuable lesson here. From now on I'll be sure that I replace the card after downloading. The really sad thing is that I had 3 other CF cards with me that I could have used if I'd only realized that I didn't have one in the camera.

A lesson learned!

An Old Headstone ::

A Holga photograph taken last weekend in a small rural cemetery.

Potters Field ::

Maple Hill Cemetery in Huntsville, Alabama:

Found Next To A Cemetery ::

in Camden, South Carolina:

A Cemetery Panorama ::

I've enjoyed shooting some panoramas over the past few months and I assembled this one this past weekend from several shots in Maple Hill Cemetery.



I think this is the first panorama that I've posted here so I won't really know how it looks 'til I post it and click to see how it opens up.

[update] Well, it looks pretty good for a 33" horizontal viewed on a 23" monitor!

Nothing Special Here ::

I was just taken by the symmetry of the facade of this church:

Old Car At The Drive-Thru ::

The Local Recycling Center ::

I'll be heading over shortly to take a load of plastic bottles and newspapers.

Cotton Picking Time In Alabama ::

Actually the cotton picking is winding down now and started a bit later than normal. I called one of the local cotton gins a couple of days ago and made arrangements to pick up composted cotton seeds for fertilizing my garden. $15 for a pickup truck load! You can't beat that!



As an afterthought I guess a technical detail is in order. This image is from the little plastic Holga camera. The more I use this the more I like the simple little camera!

Upsizing My Printing Capabilities ::

I'm picking up a lightly used Epson 4000 printer from a friend tomorrow. This will give me the capability to print on 17x22 paper as opposed to my maximum size of 13x19 right now. The price this unit was offered to me at is just too good to pass up!

Now I just have to find a place to put this beast since it has a huge desktop footprint!

A Holga Photograph In A Cemetery ::

This is one of the many scenes that I often return to photograph. I've always wondered what sort of back story there must be to Frances Wigglesworth, Consort of William Gibbes Hunt.

Another Flag Photograph ::

I seem to be on a flag roll these days:



I came across this scene a couple of years ago and was struck by the single adornment on one of the balconies.

A Patriotic Photograph ::

Taken up in Pulaski, Tennessee a couple of months ago:

A Message Written On The Side Of A Trailer ::

I caught this out of the corner of my eye yesterday and had to turn around to take the photograph.

Annie Leibovitz Exhibit In Montgomery ::

The Montgomery Museum of Art will be opening an exhibit of Annie Leibovitz photographs beginning October 28, 2010 and running through January 9, 2011. Here's a short blurb from the museum's web site:

Annie Leibovitz: WOMEN features more than 80 photographs by the renowned American photographer Annie Leibovitz. Included in this exhibition of Leibovitz’s stunning black and white and color photos are highlights from her 1999 book Women, featuring portraits of notable figures such as Barbara Bush and Oprah Winfrey, Southern heroines Eudora Welty and Osceola McCarthy, as well as formerly anonymous women who take on rolls as farmers, miners, astronauts, and soldiers.

I have long been a fan of Leibovitz's photographs and I'm looking forward to seeing the exhibit. Here are the museum's hours:

Museum Hours

Tuesday–Saturday 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Thursdays 10 a.m.–9 p.m.
Sunday 12 p.m.–5 p.m.
Admission is free!

The price is certainly right!

Old Downtown Gurley, Alabama ::

There is no downtown commerce in this old but little town since the 4 lane road went in just a few hundred yards away, but someone cares enough to put a flag on the pole. Actually Gurley was a thriving community based on farming early in the 20th century and it has a rich civil war history. I often visit a local cemetery for the interesting images I always seem to find there.

A Cross In The Pasture ::

Found in the Clouds Cove community of Madison County, Alabama:

An Old Fire Station ::

I've photographed this old fire station several times over the years and I've never particularly liked any of these images. I was near here late this afternoon and stopped to shoot this once again. I think I may be getting to the point where I will be satisfied with a photo of this building!

Working With HDR ::

Here's my first working image from my HDR experimentation:



I ran this through Photoshop CS5 the first time, but I was terribly disappointed with the results so just a short time ago I processed it in Photomatix and I'm much, much happier with these results although I'm going to have to change my shooting technique. This image was processed from 3 separate hand held photographs and I'm really surprised at just how sharp it is, but from now on I'm going to use my tripod for HDR photographs.

I had my doubts about whether or not I would like HDR photography, but I will at least be experiment more with the technique.

Wedding Chapel For Lease ::

Most people when seeing this image think that this is a church, but it actually was a wedding chapel although I never saw a wedding there. Guess what? Now it's a church!

A Wayward Child's Boot ::

It's interesting to me where I find scenes to photograph. There are some places where I could spend hours and then there are others that should be fruitful, but are nothing more than boring. About a month ago I drove down this side road near where I live that essentially dead-ends several miles in. There are a couple of side roads that shoot off from it which I have just begun exploring, but I've found several interesting, to me at least, scenes to photograph. Here is one from a little earlier today:

New Stuff ::

I spent some time today dangling my toes in some HDR photography. I'm generally not a fan of HDR, but I thought I'd give it a try. I'll post my thoughts on these new images later after I've had a chance to do something with them, or not!

Crosses And Fire Hydrant ::

Crosses beside the Cowboy Church in the Clouds Cove community of Madison County, Alabama.



I may try to get back over there this afternoon for some more photography around this area. There is a nearby cemetery which I have yet to explore.

Alabama And Auburn Dueling Parking Spots ::

Found in Gurley, Alabama a couple of years ago.

A Closed X-Rated Video Store ::

Years ago this was a convenience store that sold bait and tackle down by the Tennessee River. When it was sold the new owners opened a x-rated video store, but it closed shop just a few months ago. Come to think of it I don't know where anyone would rent any porn around here any more.

Near Where I Live ::

I'm still trying to figure out just what of facility the sign refers to. It could possibly have something to do with the Paint Rock River.

Outside Pulaski, Tennessee ::

From a couple of weeks ago:



I got several photographs up there that I like and I'll post some more later. This was the first time I'd been to Pulaski in many years, but I think I'll be visiting more often now.

Psychic Shop! ::

White Chairs In Front Of An Old Barn ::

Found on a side road off of a back road!

Statue Detail

I found myself in this great old cemetery in Gurley, Alabama a couple of years ago and found several scenes worthy of photographing including this one. I especially like the painted fingernails complimenting the plastic flowers in the hand.

Hanging Chairs

Photographed this past Sunday morning in Camden, S.C. This is a thrift store which obviously needs more inside storage for chairs!



I also wonder about the lighted christmas lights hanging over the chairs.

A Cemetery Photograph ::

Taken this past Saturday morning in the early morning fog:

Halloween Is On The Horizon ::

I've noticed in the last couple of days that the stores are beginning to put out their halloween goods so I thought I'd post this photograph I took in the Moon Cemetery last year:



For years I have found cemeteries to be fascinating places in which to search for photographic material and I'm seldom disappointed. Here is the foot marker for the grave site above of this 13 year old young person:

Manual ::

This is an oldie shot with the 8x10 probably 23 years ago:



Manual was walking down the street nearby Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta and I asked if I could take his photo near this door and he readily agreed. Looking closely later I saw that his shirt was on backwards with the tag hanging out!

Firestation #2 ::

I never thought about it before, but I don't have any idea where firestation #1 is!

Hay Baling Time ::

Taken several years ago in Morgan County, Alabama:

A Holga Photograph ::

Taken about a month ago:



I haven't been doing any shooting lately, other than some Hummingbird photos on the back porch. It's just been terribly hot and my energy level is low!

Still Here! ::

Just fighting some computer woes. My modem died last weekend and my desktop was infected with some serious malware which I'm trying to get rid of. I may just wind up upgrading the OS to the 64 bit version of Windows 7. Stay tuned and I'll be back soon with some new photographs.

Seen In A Local Cemetery ::

Irony?

Steve McCurry Exposes The Last Roll Of Kodachrome ::

McCurry was given the last production roll of Kodachrome by Kodak and, given that he had 36 exposures, he spent some considerable time exposing images from different locations around the world, but with the 1st and last frames shot in his home base of New York City.

The story and a link to the interview is up on NPR.

The last Kodachrome processing line in the world, run by Dwayne's in Kansas, is scheduled to shut down on December 30 of this year. I've shot many rolls of Kodachrome through the years and I love the film, but what really sticks in my mind are the 8x10 Kodachromes that an old timer photographer friend in Atlanta showed me many years ago. They were absolutely gorgeous!

A Roadside Monument ::

From a couple of years ago just a week or two before Halloween:

A Fisheye Lomo Photograph ::

The guy who owns the acreage next to me is the president of the local beekeepers association and has 13 hives within about 100 yards of me. When I need honey it doesn't get any more local than that!



Not bad for a $35 plastic camera!

No Trespassing ::

A couple of weeks ago I came across this field with all of these no trespassing signs. Actually there are a lot more of these than are shown in this photograph. I did a panorama, but I haven't fully processed it yet. I'll put it up when I'm happy with the final result.



This scene is next to a railroad track and an overpass. Underneath the overpass is a homeless camp so I'm sure that these homeless people are the target audience for these signs.

Walker Cemetery ;:

In the Hebron Community in Marshall County, Alabama:



This church is only a couple of miles from where I live so I often photograph it, or, more specifically, the cemetery surrounding it on the hill. We had some significant thunderstorms yesterday resulting in some dramatic skies, but I could only get down here a little later after having voted so the clouds had changed quite a bit. I did get this photograph which was at least mildly satisfying!

Sign In A Cemetery ::

A Holga photograph:

Last Flag Photograph For A While ::

This was taken on December 26, 2008 in downtown New Hope, Alabama. Just directly across the street are the recycling bins where I take my newspapers and plastic every couple of weeks.



The flag has been replaced a couple of times since I shot this photograph and this is what it looks like right now:

The 4th Of July ::

I just might go out and buy some miniature explosive devices!