A Holga Photograph ;;

The weather has been pretty lousy the past few days with a lot of rain and now some chilly temperatures and I'll be working all day Saturday, but I'm hoping for some nice spring weather soon.

A Red Cross ::

I found this scene this morning in a rural community near where I live. Actually, crosses are big in this little area and, off the top of my head, I can think of at least 4 more that I have photographed within just a couple of miles. I'm hoping to take many more photographs around here in the summer when the fields are planted.

A Closed Title Pawn Shop ::

It's unusual to see one closed around here these days. Kinda like all of the thrift shops popping up everywhere--a sign of the times!

In The Clouds Cove Community ::

The Clouds Cove community is a short drive away from where I live and it's down this back road that I would probably never have ventured down if not for a sign beside the main road that led me to check it out several months ago. This is one of those areas where I seem to always find something new to photograph every time I visit.



I'm looking forward to spending a lot of time in the area during the summer. As a bonus, the Flint River also runs beside the road for a ways and I'm going to try fishing there some also.

A Rural Church

I started a project to photograph churches several years ago but I quickly found that most were very unnoteworthy, but every once in a while I come across one that's interesting, such as this one in Owens Crossroads, Alabama.

All Things Change ::

This was formerly a used appliance store that had all sorts of character until it was sold, torn down, and is now a used car lot!

More Experimentation ::

I've been working more and more with OnOne Software's Phototools 2.6 and here is one of my latest products. It's a bit more manipulation than I would normally do, but I like it. The software is very nice for working with portraits and wedding photographs and next I'll post some before and after shots with some skin tones in a few days.

Albertville, Alabama ::

I've been trying out OnOne Software's Plug-In Suite 5 and the more I use it the more I like it. The suite includes Focal Point, Mask Pro, PhotoTune, Genuine Fractals (now called Perfect Resize) PhotoTools, and PhotoFrame. I've found FotoTools to be indispensable for enhancing images and I've long used Genuine Fractals for upsizing my photographs. I believe that they do offer a trial download at their website and they also have some really great videos which run round around 1 hour each to help you get used to the products and how they can enhance your workflow.

A Chair ::

This is a photograph from 2008, but I have recently realized that I have, perhaps unconsciously at first, been photographing corrugated metal buildings and loading docks that I run across.

Cash Only ::

I finally got Windows 7 up and running and all of my programs and plug-ins loaded up so we should be good to go for a while. All I need now is more ram. I'm currently running 4 gigs, but my motherboard accepts 16 so I'll probably add 8 gigs soon.

Still Here! ::

I haven't gone anywhere--I've been updating the desktop to Windows 7 and there have been some glitches, but I'm working through them right now and should be fully back with some photographs sometime this weekend.

It's a pain to change operation systems, but I hope this will be a good move in the long run!

No Thieves ::

This sign in on the side of a building which formerly housed a local charitable organization. People would leave donations outside during weekends and off hours and, unfortunately, theft was a huge problem even though one of the local police departments was only a couple of blocks away.

Never To Run Again ::

This is an old tractor at a sod farm just down the road from where I live. Actually, there are several pieces of old equipment and I'll probably be taking some more photographs of them in the next couple of months.

A Sign On The Side Of A Building ::

Unfortunately this building was torn down shortly after this photograph was taken. It's now nothing more than an empty lot.

A Sign ::

A Holga photograph of a hand made sign beside the road advertising a rural barber shop.



Signs have been interesting me for a long time and I often photograph them with the little plastic fisheye lomo. Here's an example:



The owner of the acreage next to me is a beekeeper who also has begun something of an orchard in the back portion of his land. Several years will be required before the fruit trees produce, bu when I need local honey for medicinal purposes it's impossible to get more local that what I get from Hal!

Piney Woods Community Church ::

This was photographed back in January just after a significant snowfall here in north Alabama. This church began life as a wedding chapel which apparently couldn't attract enough weddings to survive!



Over the past several years I've been photographing churches,especially rural churches, generally with disappointing results, photographically speaking, but I still think that the project has merit!

Open Gate ::

ajar in front of the doors of a weathered church in Mooresville, Alabama.

Hard To Miss This Building!

A Roadside Memorial ::

Found beside a creek in Camden, South Carolina:

Leon Lipscomb Grocery ::

Found in Lacey's Spring, Alabama:



I found another old country store this past weekend, but I didn't have the opportunity to photograph it. I'm hoping for some nice clear blue skies, hopefully with some white fluffy clouds, soon. The old store has been there for decades so I doubt if it'll be going away soon.