Tag: downtown

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Updated Gallery: Downtown Macon, Georgia

The first photostroll downtown this year involved some new gear, an extremely sharp and astonishingly compact wide-angle zoom from Sigma. I’ve wanted something wider that the 35mm-equivalent that is my daily driver for a minute now, and this absolutely fits the bill.

It also gave me an excuse to see a couple of new and updated spots in Macon:

Rosa Parks Square (Memorials and Seating), Poplar and First Sts.

First up is the refreshed completely redone Rosa Parks Square, now with extensive hardscaping, seating and more — a much needed change to one of the most important areas in the city, right next to the City Auditorium and downtown’s Hotel 45:

Rosa Parks Square (Circle), Poplar and First Sts.

Also completely new is the Otis Redding Center for the Arts, a refreshingly contemporary building with its own new landscaping and gardens:

Zelma Redding Amphitheater (with Statue), Cherry St. and First St. Ln.

It’s a pleasure to be able to get a huge amount of detail, landscape, and space into a single photograph; the wide-angle itch is well and truly sated. Better still, when asked to focus on details, it shines very brightly indeed:

Cherry Blossom Festival Decor (#1), Parish Seafood, 580 Cherry St.

It does retro well, too:

St. Joseph’s Catholic Church (Spire), 830 Poplar St.

So, ask me how I feel about this upgrade. Well, how ’bout this:

I Heart Downtown (Sculpture), Second St.

Sigma got this lens just right. Including the seven posted here, a total of 30 new photographs have been added to the Downtown Macon (2022-2026) gallery.

Note: Once you’re in the photo gallery, the new items are near the middle of the stack — look for the retro photo from this post and it’s the photos that follow. Remember that you can click on any photo to enlarge to a single photo with locations/titles and next/back controls (or run a slideshow). If you’re in a downtown Macon mood, don’t forget the 2008–2018 and 2020–2021 galleries as well. Thank you!

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Updated Gallery: Downtown Macon

As is typical in July in Georgia, it was hot yesterday — but not so much that I didn’t spend a few minutes wandering around with the camera and superb 90mm. Especially since I was down on MLK, an area of downtown Macon I don’t frequent as much as, say, 2nd St.

Macon Rocks Mural (401 Cherry St.)
Music Marker (MLK and Mulberry)

Some detail shots (as usual):

Studio Door, Serenity Entertainment, Cherry St. Ln.
Visit Macon’s Keyboard Building Detail, 450 MLK Blvd.
Decorated Transit, MLK and Cherry

Side note: I was completely unaware that Steve Martin and Edie Brickell had teamed up for Bright Star, a musical set in the Appalachians. (I presume, unfortunately, that the 2020 season at Theatre Macon might not have shown.) It probably won’t surprise that I enjoy a musical now and than — and am a big fan of both Martin and Brickell — so was glad to find it on Tidal.

Bright Star (Painted) Poster, Theatre Macon, 3rd St. Ln.

In any case, 23 new photographs have been posted to the Downtown Macon (2022-2023) gallery. Peruse and enjoy — and thanks for visiting.

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Updated Gallery: Downtown Macon

It’s hard to understate how much downtown Macon has changed for the better in the last fifteen years: new residents (and lofts), new restaurants, new shops, a high-end hotel, and more — all without losing its feeling of an historic Southern city.

Balconies, 389 1st St.
(Sign of) Hotel Forty-Five, 401 Cotton Ave.

On the subject of Southern, I’m glad to see the completion of the new Cotton Avenue Plaza, a pocket park that replaces not only an awkward intersection but one that had, at its center, a Confederate celebratory statue. Something everyone can share is a big upgrade:

Cotton Avenue Plaza (with Lawrence Mayer Building)

Meanwhile, it wouldn’t be a gallery post without some of my signature detail photographs:

Flower Detail #2, Mulberry St.
Eyes on Cherry St. (Window)

The downtown gallery (2022–23) is now up to 132 photographs — check ’em out. (Once you’ve followed the link, click on any photograph for a larger, captioned version.) And, if you’re interested in the city’s downtown evolution, see also the 2020–21 and 2008–2018 galleries.

As always, thanks for stopping by.

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Updated Gallery: Downtown Macon

I had the occasion to have lunch downtown yesterday, a day of simply beautiful spring weather — which I absolutely used as an excuse to take the camera for a spin.

The vast majority of the time, I use what I call my standard lens: 35mm. (Some would argue that 50mm is the “standard,” but I really prefer the wider angle of view due to its additional context.) This time, however, I was using Leica’s superb — and, sadly, no longer available — 90mm macro. The detail, the color, everything about this lens excels:

Leaves and Berries, Poplar & New Sts.
Veteran’s Flame and Flag, Macon-Bibb Government Center, 700 Poplar St.

It’s sometimes a challenge to be creative in an area you’ve photographed often, but I enjoy trying to spy new details:

L.C. Rick’s Place, D.T. Walton Sr. Way & Poplar St.
Kudzu Signs and Building Cornice, 512 Poplar St.

Or revisit favorite architectural items:

Post and Turret, 690 Poplar St.

23 new photographs have been added to the Macon Downtown (2022–2023) gallery, bringing the total to 110. (Don’t forget about the 2008–2018 and 2020–2021 galleries, either.)

Remember, once in a gallery, clicking on any photograph will start a slide show, with much larger images, titles, and more. Peruse and enjoy!

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Updated Galleries: Macon Downtown x3, Automotive

FedEx pulled up around 8:30 this morning and dropped off a new lens. (It wasn’t due ’til Tuesday — bonus!) Given that it was an absolutely beautiful morning, I shelved my plans for the day, picked up the camera, and headed downtown.

Verdict? It’s so a keeper. See for yourself:

Catholic Cross, St. Joseph’s, Macon
Purple Hydrangea, St. Joseph’s, Macon
(Funeral) Chapel, New St., Macon
552 New St. (Brick Detail), Macon
Public Art (Detail #1), D T Walton Sr Way, Macon
Tree and City Auditorium, Macon

Wound up with sixty new items posted. However, the downtown Macon gallery was getting almost too big — confusing, even — so has been separated into three parts:

One more thing: Four photographs have been added to the Automotive gallery, including this rare Mitsubishi Lancer Evo:

Macon Lancer Evo (Wheel Detail)

Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend!

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Macon Downtown Gallery Updated

Macon TT Downtown Aged

Took the TTArtisans 50mm ƒ1.2 for a brief stroll today after lunch with Gerald. Gotta say: this thing is fun:

Macon Downtown TT Sign

Note how the sign is into the bokeh practically before you’re through the sign’s second letter. This, too:

Macon TT Downtown

Does it begin to challenge Leica, or even Voigtlander? Certainly not — it’s a $98 (!) Chinese manual-focus crop lens shunned by almost all “real” Leica shooters. But for this short-depth-of-field fan, it’s worth the embracing the flaws. The updates are at the bottom of the page, marked, “Macon-Downtown_June-2021-x.” Enjoy.

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Downtown Gallery Updated (and… Updated)

As mentioned yesterday, Gerald purchased a Voigtlander Ultron 21mm f1.8 — a very nice, German-owned (Japanese-made), manual-focus lens — last month, and he was kind enough to loan it to me for a couple of days.

We — that is, the lens and I — went for a short photostroll in downtown Macon this afternoon. Check the results in the updated gallery.

Edit, 6 March, 2021: I’ve rejigged the Macon galleries, and the featured photograph from this post is now in the Macon – Miscellaneous gallery (as the Catholic church is up the hill from downtown).