The Redneck Storm Shelter ::

This is an oldie, having been photographed several years ago before I got the DSLR. As a tribute to the true American entrepreneurial spirit someone decided to put a door and a vent pipe on a hopefully unused septic tank and market it as a "storm shelter".

In Honor Of Football ::

In the state of Alabama. I've never quite figured out why people take this sport so seriously, but I guess the love of football is pretty universal. Too bad we don't expend as much energy in intellectual pursuits!

Church On The Hill ::

Been scarce the past few days because of illness, but gradually getting over it. This is a scene I pass often and I have photographed it several times. I like this one best so far.



The tree completes the visual image.

Drive-Thru BBQ Stand For Rent ::

Must not have been very good BBQ not to make it in Alabama, but I love the sign!

Atop Green Mountain ::

Geese On The Lake ::

An overlooked image taken on January 2, 2007, but, for the life of me, I can't remember why the flag was at half-staff.



I'll have to try and remember to research this later today.

Another Flag Photo ::

I have been fascinated by American flags in different scenes over the years. I was down in Boaz, Alabama several months ago and came across this. It was near the wrestling school!

A Serious Fan ::

I took this photograph several years ago amazed by a couple of things. The first is the loyalty shown to one's choice of universities and the lengths to which many people go to show that loyalty. The other was that no one had stolen these decorations!



I find cemeteries to be fascinating places and I rarely visit one without finding some scene worthy of a photograph. I am not sure when this fascination began, but perhaps it started when I became a fan of the work of Clarence John Laughlin in the cemeteries of New Orleans. I had the good fortune to meet Laughlin at The Atlanta College of Art not long before he passed away.

A Towering Monument ::

Cemeteries are, to me, fascinating places and I seldom visit one without finding something to photograph such as this this handmade little monument to a family's loved one.



I especially like to visit cemeteries which are associated with small country churches. This particular cemetery is in Lacey's Spring, Alabama. I just happened to remember the following photographs taken in the same littel cemetery:






Obviously the Eudy family had much to mourn!

Appetizing? ::

A Flag In The Window ::

A Portrait ::

Not my strong suit, but I did this one of Savannah a couple of months ago and I really like it!

A Lomo Image ::

Love Fest 2009 ::

A local benefit to collect school supplies and money for school supplies.



The event was a rousing success with entertainment for the kids along with reggae music by Kush joined by horn player Ken Watters.

Where I go ::

When I need lawnmower parts!

Another Panorama

I attended an event at The Davidson Center at the U.S. Space And Rocket Center a couple of weeks ago and shot this panorama at around 8pm.



Inside the window you can see an actual Saturn rocket. The Saturn to the left is a mock-up, but it's still impressive when you stand next to it!

Taking The Photograph When The Time Is Right? ::

For the longest time I would see a scene I wanted to photograph and decide that the light was not right vowing to return when conditions were move favorable. More often than not I simply forgot to return or, when I did return, the scene was irrevocably changed. These days I try to photograph something interesting even if the conditions are not ideal. I took this photograph last year.



I drove by a couple of weeks ago and noticed that the old appliance repair and sales building was being torn down and this is what it looked like as of last week:



The big hole to the left is where the old appliances were behind the window. I actually got 3 of what I consider to be nice images before losing the building.

I'm glad I didn't wait on this one!

Old Firestation Across The Tracks ::

I've tried several times over the years to get a decent photograph of this old fire station with no success. I shot this one last week and it's marginally better than what I've gotten before.



I guess I'll keep trying, but the sky was nice on this afternoon!

Happy 4th Of July ::

The day we take great pleasure in buying miniature explosive devices!



I don't watch much TV, but I hope that "Yankee Doodle Dandy" is on at some point today! I haven't seen it in a long time!

Tivo says that TCM will have it on at 4:45pm. I'll set the recorder!

A Roadside Monument ::

I've been photographing these sad reminders of loved ones lost to our highways for some time. Usually I have no idea of the circumstances surrounding the loss of life, but this one is different.




This was a terrible accident last New Year's Eve just about 2 miles from where I live. It happened in the early evening and a local teenager was killed. I woke up this morning to the news that a local woman was killed just up the road yesterday while crossing the highway on foot.

As an aside, let me add that I never answer or use my cell phone while driving. I'm amazed at how many people I see who have obviously lost concentration while talking on their phone or, worse, test messaging. Being connected just isn't that important!

Churches ::

A couple of years ago I started photographing church faces that I found interesting. This little church was tucked back into a corner on a short side road.



I haven't been taking many photographs lately given everything else that has been going on, but it's time to take up the camera again!

Kodak Kills Kodachrome! ::

I heard the news this afternoon that Kodachrome production is slated to be halted. I haven't shot any Kodachrome in years and had no idea that there was only one plant in the world which still developed Kodachrome 'til I heard it on NPR this afternoon.

Simon sang about it in 1973 in the aptly titled "Kodachrome."

"They give us those nice bright colors. They give us the greens of summers. Makes you think all the world's a sunny day," he sang. "So Mama don't take my Kodachrome away."

This is a sad but not unexpected passing. I have been shooting digital for the past several years and see no reason for anyone to ever shoot film again! Having said that, I do have a $50 plastic Fisheye Lomo camera that I shoot ASA 400 negative film in and I really like it although all I do is get the negatives processed and then I scan them!



I guess that in some ways I can consider myself an old-timer now, but I knew some of the real old-timers and I had a friend in Atlanta years ago who had some original 8x10 Kodachrome transparencies which were beyond description!

Flag Week-Saturday

Should be around 95 degrees around here today so I thought I'd post the snowman photograph!

Flag Week-Friday

Flag Week-Thursday ::

Flag Week-Wednesday ::

Flag Week-Tuesday ::

Flag Week-2009 ::

Since flags are one of favorite subjects I'll be posting more photographs this week.

Still Around ::

I've been busy fixing everything that seems to have broken since we had a lightening induced power surge a few weeks ago. Got a new dryer put in and have all the new parts to put together my computer. Still waiting for the garage door opener part, but, in the meantime, the drive belt on my lawnmower broke so that has consumed a lot of my time in the past few days.

I did go to a horse show last Saturday evening and shot a few hundred photographs so I'll share one:



Nothing special, but a fun way to spend a Saturday evening.

Fat Daddy's ::

I didn't realize that I had been away for so long. I'm still assembling the parts for a new desktop computer after my motherboard got fried by a lightening induced power surge a couple of weeks ago and I hope to have it back up and running sometime over the next weekend. In the meantime here is a photograph of Fat Daddy's Barbecue. I guess that it wasn't really the "best butt in Bama"!

A Panorama ::

Early Works Children's Museum in Huntsville, Alabama.

Memorial Day 2009 ::

Conspicuously Absent!

My primary desktop computer got fried by lightening last Friday morning so that is why I have not been around this past week. Luckily I had backed up all of my photographs to a new portable hard drive just a few days previous so they're ok. I'm in the process of determining what to buy for a new build so I'll be relying on the laptop for a while, but it seems to perform adequately although I do miss the desktop.

Stay tuned and I'll have some new photographs to post up soon. If the rain ever stops here I'll be photographing local horse shows and I'll share some of the images from there.

Up In Smoke! ::

Small Flag On The Ground ::

Fireworks Stand ::

New Kittens ::

OK, I just could not resist posting this photograph of my new kittens nursing:

Crawmamma's ::

Good gumbo, crawfish, shrimp, etc.!

This was formerly known as Crawdaddy's in Guntersville, Al. and there was a second location up near Scottsboro. As it turns out, Crawdaddy and Crawmamma got a Crawdivorce and split the restaurants between them. The food is still excellent!

Another Mom & Pop Store Bites The Dust ::

Sheheen's Feed And Seed closed 3 or 4 years ago along with Burn's Hardware. Both closings were precipitated by the proliferation of the "big box" stores nearby in Camden, S.C. I had grown up with these stores and I was saddened to see them go and, unfortunately, this scenario is being repeated throughout the world!

Yet Another Flag Photograph ::

An Old Flag Photo ::

This one was taken a long time ago with my little 5 megapixel Kodak camera. I still carry this camera around with me although I can't remember the last time I took a photograph with it.

Happy Birthday!

Big Cove BBQ ::

Flats Fixed ::

Cardboard Bales ::

Shotgun Pellets ::

Not an uncommon sight in the rural South or, for that matter I would imagine, anywhere in America!