Giles Hoover

Photography and design for print production

Category: Gallery and Web Site Updates

Web site and gallery updates here on gileshoover.com.

  • Updated Gallery: Franklin Delano Roosevelt State Park, Pine Mountain

    Updated Gallery: Franklin Delano Roosevelt State Park, Pine Mountain

    As I mentioned yesterday, Gerald and I enjoyed a lovely first-of-spring drive out of middle Georgia. Our destination was Pine Mountain, home of F. D. Roosevelt State Park. Needless to say, there were cameras involved.

    Starting on Dowdell Knob, FDR’s favorite picnic spot — with its amazing valley overlook:

    Roosevelt’s Grill With a View, Dowdell Knob

    Next was the park’s office and overlook complex:

    FDR State Park Office (B&W Study), Pine Mountain
    Stone, Shutters, and Stars and Stripes
    FDR State Park Overlook: Rocks

    Peruse the entire gallery here. And when you have some extra time, all of FDR State Park is worth a visit; it’s got everything from hiking trails to cabins to the Callaway Gardens Country Kitchen in its 9049 acres. Enjoy!

    Bonus: Georgia Public Broadcasting, at the premier of its film A President in Our Midst: Franklin Delano Roosevelt in Georgia, said:

    Franklin Delano Roosevelt had a very special relationship with the State of Georgia. This compelling documentary spotlights the mutual benefits that the friendship provided to both the president and the people of Georgia. The film is based on the book, A President in Our Midst: Franklin Delano Roosevelt in Georgia.

    It’s no Ken Burns, certainly, but if you’re not familiar with FDR’s extensive time spent in west Georgia, it might be worth your time. See it here.

    Bonus gallery: Callaway Gardens, from 2008.

  • New and Updated Galleries: Woodland, Thomaston, and Yatesville

    New and Updated Galleries: Woodland, Thomaston, and Yatesville

    The end of winter here in Georgia means beautifully warm days, flowers and trees budding, and photography. Gerald and I took a road trip this weekend, enjoying almost 200 miles of driving — and four photostrolls.

    We’ll cover three today, heading west from Middle Georgia:

    Yatesville Peach Blossoms #1

    See everything from Yatesville, pop. 408, here.

    Next is an update from Thomaston, whose downtown square is typical of Georgia:

    Upson County Courthouse (B&W Study #2), 2022

    That gallery is available here.

    Lastly today is a new stop: Woodland, in west-central Georgia, near Pine Mountain and Warm Springs, northeast of Columbus.

    Woodland Antiques
    Postal Angel (Awning to be Free)

    Woodland, whose population also happens to be 408, has a gallery here.

    Many thanks to Gerald for the company and good day. Next up: FDR State Park, likely tomorrow.

  • New Gallery: Jackson, Georgia

    New Gallery: Jackson, Georgia

    This past weekend’s road trip included five stops, including Monticello and Barnesville, which I covered in the last post. However, there were three more stops in the middle.

    Jackson Dam, which forms the headwaters of the Ocmulgee River — and which has a fishing area with this neat scene:

    Walk and Deck, Jackson Dam

    Jackson Lake, formed by the Yellow, Alcovy, and South Rivers:

    Jackson Lake (Wideangle)

    And Jackson proper, which has a traditional (for Georgia, at least) town square with a courthouse:

    Butts County Courthouse #5, Jackson

    Also, this — with perhaps too cute a title:

    Downtown Door During Reconstruction, Jackson

    All of these have been added to a new gallery. Check it out.

  • Monticello and Barnesville Galleries Updated

    Monticello and Barnesville Galleries Updated

    February has been beautiful here in Georgia, with spring just beginning to show — which means the Leica and I are out and about again.

    Let’s start in Monticello. (Although named for Jefferson’s estate of the same name, it’s actually pronounced “Monti-sello.”) The tractor’s still there:

    Monticello Tractor (Pinhole)

    And my chase of architectural details continues anew:

    Cornice and Corbel, Collected

    More to see in the updated gallery. (A reminder: once there, click on any photo to start a slideshow.)

    Next, Barnesville:

    Red Southern Caboose Against Blue Sky

    Across Main Street is this:

    Whitewalls of Thine Increase

    Enjoy that updated gallery, too.

    Bonus Update: Gave the 235 some exercise, too — which means a couple of photographs.

  • New Website. Finally.

    New Website. Finally.

    Housekeeping news: I went back to having an actual website in June, 2019; for a few years, I’d just used a photography hosting service, as photography was the vast majority of what I did. However, when book design again became an important-enough part of my work, I wanted to have a space to talk about it. I bought a WordPress template, added photographs, and posted it.

    …But I never really liked it. From the beginning, I felt y’all deserved more: better typography, better photography, better everything. Like so many, however, one’s own stuff is always at the bottom of the to-do list. No longer.

    I’d like to introduce the new version:

    The new gileshoover.com, January, 2022

    There were a few bumps getting here (naturally, I broke everything along the way; to say I don’t code is an understatement!), but with some tweaking notwithstanding, the new gileshoover.com is live. It’s got all-original photography, matched sans and serif font superfamily (Merriweather by Sorkin Type, a Google Font), much faster response time, open-source foundations, and so on.

    Note that entries on Foreword are best seen individually, as you’ll see bigger photographs (or illustrations, graphics, etc.). Click on entry titles to get there.

    Please explore.

  • Maine Galleries Updated

    Maine Galleries Updated

    After being unable to visit in 2020, the regular trip to Maine resumed in 2021:

    Cape Neddick Harbor (Lobster Pound)
    Cape Neddick Harbor (Lobster Pound)

    Not too many updates, but some good items have been added:

    Cape Neddick Country Club
    Coastal Golf Tracks and Trees
    Steps to the Beach
    Safety Rope, Beach Footprints, Ocean

    Let’s not forget the parts that make up the big picture, either:

    Maine details
    Details, Spruced Up

    That clear, September sky, the beginnings of fall, the sea: all are represented in the many Maine galleries. And while Maine Revisited may be sold out, the individual photographs — and many more — are still available as prints, framed or unframed, for your favorite living space. Thanks for your support!

    Maine Revisited
    The book is sold out — but the photographs are still available
  • New Gallery: Vassar College

    New Gallery: Vassar College

    Many, many moons ago, my late sister attended Vassar College. I had an occasion to stay in Poughkeepsie, NY, where Vassar is located, and went over on a beautiful morning and spent some time wandering around with the Leica.

    Chapel Hall, Vassar
    Film, Vassar

    It’s a beautiful campus; a mix of modern, mid-century, and classic architecture — with a little mid-century thrown in:

    Architecture mix, Vassar

    For many years, Vassar was a women’s (-only) college, and it was nice to find the National Landmark observatory building — a reminder that even in the 1800’s, women were doing scientific research:

    Vassar Observatory

    The New England building:

    New England Building, Vassar

    An enjoyable visit, a beautiful, incredibly well-tended campus, and a tranquil late summer morning at a renowned college. I was delighted to visit, and pleased with the resulting photographs. See the rest here.

  • New Gallery: Bristol, VA/TN

    New Gallery: Bristol, VA/TN

    “Twice the city, twice the fun,” Bristol’s tourism web site says. While some might talk extensively about the Bristol Motor Speedway and its associated draws, I was only there to spend some time on the way to and from Maine. Using the superb Bristol Hotel as a base, I not only enjoyed the Blackbird Bakery and the Bristol Bagel & Bakery (no web site, alas) — both a great way to start a day — but also the excellent Vivian’s Table for dinner. That’s only the food; plenty more I didn’t get to, as well. Nice all around.

    There were opportunities to take some photographs, too:

    Downtown @ night

    State Street downtown straddles the state line, meaning that this guy was in Virginia:

    Metal street art (VA)

    While this corner, two blocks down on the same street, is actually in Tennessee:

    Architectural styles juxtaposed

    And here’s the best of both worlds: foreground in one state (TN) while background in another (VA):

    Two state photography

    Bristol was a pleasant surprise; will definitely return when the opportunity presents itself. In the meantime, enjoy a virtual visit with the new photography gallery.