It’s been a while — too long, in fact — but with a completely new storage and editing system in place, it’s time to get back to taking, editing, and posting photographs from Middle Georgia and beyond.
This time, it’s the nearby city of Forsyth, specifically its historic train depot. Interestingly, Forsyth was the first city in Georgia to get passenger train service, in 1838, and the lovely station wears its years well.
Tracks and Train Depot, E. Johnston St. and Railroad Ave., Forsyth
Both the depot and its features are examined, in general and in detail:
Forsyth Train Depot (Roof and Chimneys), 104-114 E. Adams St., ForsythForsyth Train Depot (Train Car Detail #3), 104-114 E. Adams St., ForsythForsyth Train Depot (Train Car Detail #5), 104-114 E. Adams St., ForsythAntique Fire Truck (Detail #7), 104-114 E. Adams St., Forsyth
And, ever watchful:
Forsyth Train Depot (Bronze Dog Sculpture), 104-114 E. Adams St., Forsyth
A bunch of tasty ingredients in this month’s post — from friendly identities and open-source typefaces to feel-good photography. Once past the minor rant we’re that covers the other meaning of stew, that is. Read on.
It’s Nice That on Copyright and Reuse
Elizabeth Goodspeed, editor-at-large for It’s Nice That, has a great column up regarding copyright and the current — and trending — business climate, especially with regard to copyright: it’s become the norm, she argues, for companies to mine open-source and expired-copyright imagery instead of hiring an artist, a trend exacerbated by the rise of AI. “Instead of safeguarding creators, copyright now favors whoever has the resources to outlast their opponent in a legal battle,” she writes. “Since public domain material already looks polished, using it also eliminates the time, effort, and expense of creating something new from scratch (not to mention the time spent building its associative meaning from the ground up). But why would anyone ever commission an illustrator when they can just pull something free from an archive?”
She’s done it herself:
The Murders in the Rue Morgue, 1895 (public domain). Aubrey Beardsley.New Antiquarians, 2023. Book design by Elizabeth Goodspeed.
She also points to a new UK proposal for a data mining exemption to be given to AI companies. “[I]t would lead to a “wholesale” transfer of wealth from the creative industries to the tech sector,” Sir Paul McCartney argues. (Source.) But isn’t that true of the larger picture these days, no matter the country?
Not all borrowing is the same. Copying is often more about power than propriety. When working with archival material myself, I like to think in terms of the stand-up comedy rule: punching up vs. punching down. Picking up visual motifs from a billion-dollar corporation that’s built its empire on copyright hoarding? That’s punching up. Repackaging the work of a living artist from a marginalised background without credit or compensation? Likewise, using found material for an indie zine is a far cry from pulling from the same source for a corporate client that could easily afford to commission something new.
— Elizabeth Goodspeed, It’s Nice That Editor-at-large
It is most certainly a trend in book design — but the bigger question here is one she states as fact: “[r]ather than referencing the past, designers are stripping it for parts.” It’s worth stepping back, as designers, and consider how we source — and use — imagery.
The entire article, only part of which is discussed above, is worth a read. And more than a moment’s thought.
LitHub’s great cover graphic — pun likely intended — for Mary’s attempts.
“This very slight, low-stakes request for ‘inspiration’ became an all-consuming assignment. My brain started spitting out cover ideas. And then more cover ideas. I was sure I would break through and create the Great American Finance-book-that-reads-like-a-Novel Cover,” she writes — and, better still, backs up with illustrations.
Cover design by the Flatiron Books in-house art dept.
In the end, she left it to the professionals — but the trip is absolutely worth the read. (Be sure to follow the Na Kim link, too.) Via Kottke.
“Pluckish and playful” is more than a description of the wonderfully-named Fantastic Mr. Font, it’s the description of the new identity for the Roald Dahl Story Company. (Which is, unfortunately, a division of Netflix — but we’ll leave that for another day.)
Just right. So, too, it the font’s interaction with various illustration elements:
Roald Dahl and Sir Quentin Blake — plus the new font.
The typeface was “developed in collaboration with type foundry Pangram Pangram, the font is a customisation of its existing font PP Acma, turning its already unconventional characteristics into something ‘more mischievous,’” Ellis Tree — another great name — writes at It’s Nice That.
Speaking of Pangram Pangram, let’s start there: their Lettra Mono was the standout of Creative Boom’s roundup of new fonts for February. Monospaced serif fonts are unusual, but good ones….
The italics, especially.
Inclusive Sans
CB also chose the incredible update to Inclusive Sans, which was also the subject of an article at It’s Nice That — and, better still, free, open-sourced, and now available in five-weight goodness at Google Fonts.
Love the retro style of the supporting images.
“Inclusive Sans is a new typeface from Olivia King that puts accessibility at the forefront,” It’s Nice That writes. “It’s arisen from the type designer’s research into typographic accessibility and readability – from highly regarded traditional guides and papers to more modern approaches to letterform legibility.”
Available in a variable weight, too.
Gorton
Marcin Wichary — he of Shift Happens fame — pens (heh) an comprehensive and incredibly well-illustrated article on Gorton, a typeface you’re undoubtedly seen but don’t know.
Anyone who knows Shift Happens will recognize the illustrative style. Photograph by Marcin Wichary.
“One day,” he writes, “I saw what felt like Gorton on a ferry traversing the waters Bay Area. A few weeks later, I spotted it on a sign in a national park. Then on an intercom. On a street lighting access cover. In an elevator. At my dentist’s office. In an alley.”
See also the f6 in the title image, above. Photograph by Marcin Wichary.
It’s a long post, so save it for when you’ve a minute to enjoy — but 110% worth it.
Special Bonus #3:Creative Bloq has a list of the best typography of the 1920s — “from Futura to Industria Gravur” — as chosen by designers. My fave? Gill Sans, of course.
Used in Saab’s advertising, amongst about a billion other examples.
Meanwhile, on the subject of space — and PetaPixel — a reminder that one of the most infamous photographs in history turned 35 on Valentine’s Day:
The Pale Blue Dot. (2020 remastered edition.)
Aaaand one more from PetaPixel: a book. Eight photographers documented 24 hours at the Vienna Airport, offering up more than a few behind-the-scenes shots — in celebration of its 70th anniversary:
Photograph by Jérôme Gence.
“The project was overseen by Lois Lammerhuber,” PetaPixel writes, “a publisher and photographer, who has since turned the collection of images into a book titled The Dream of Flying.”
Photograph by Ulla Lohmann.
The project was “about showing the people who use the airport as well as highlighting the staff who ensure all the airplanes depart and land safely.” My favorite shot:
Photograph by Ana María Arévalo Gosen.
I’m an airport and large/commercial plane junkie — and old enough to remember when all-access at the local airport wasn’t a big deal — so it was great to see these.
Lastly, from This is Colossal, another round of the “coincidental” style of Eric Kogan:
Special Bonus #5: Art News notes that Paul Rudoph’s Walker Guest House is for sale for the bargain price of $2 million. It’s a kit home that’s been assembled in various places, including the grounds of the Ringling Museum in Sarasota, Florida. (It’s currently in storage in Rhinebeck, New York. Shipping is not included.)
So why is in the photography section, you ask?
Photograph by Giles Hoover.
That’s why. Check out more of my photography from Ringling and Sarasota. (The Walker images are near the top.)
Photograph by Giles Hoover.
Sigma: a new BFF?
No, that’s just BF — it stands for “beautiful foolishness,” after a line from a poem in Okura Tenshin’s The Book of Tea — but, as usual for them, something different. Something good.
Like the FP before it, there’s nothing you don’t need, bordering perhaps on a minimalism that’s … stark? No viewfinder, no stabilization, no mechanical shutter, built-in memory (so no card slot), haptic interface. But style for days, a great shape and texture, and absolutely the right size.
It’s made at the rapid clip of nine per day, because it’s made from a single billet of aluminum — shades of the Leica T/TL/TL2 (something I maintain was before its time, and discontinued short-sightedly) — except full-frame. And, of course, supported by Sigma’s extensive catalog of L-mount lenses. (Another commonality with the TL.)
At $2000, it’s the right price, too. Read more here or here or here.
Slightly more formal, slightly on-trend typography, which is fine — but the logo is clever in being both a letter and a lens. More of that just right to close out the day.
Special Bonus #6: Sigma’s CEO Kazuto Yamaki is charismatic, interesting, and dedicated, as seen in the videos PetaPixel has introducing their new HQ building in 2022. Love the library-wrapped staircase.
Update, 4 March 2025: PetaPixel has posted a YouTube podcast/interview with Kazuto Yamaki, in which he talks about the BF and possibly a new, “serious” camera to compliment their 300-600mm lens. (This is probably a better intro to Sigma’s CEO than the above.)
Special Bonus #7: TTArtisan, the Chinese manufacturer making interesting L-mount lenses — I have two, both solidly in the cheap-and-cheerful category — is about to introduce their first camera … and “interesting” is, in fact, the best way to describe it:
Purely mechanical, no batteries required, instant film camera that’s decidedly retro.
This time, book design times two, book cutouts, album covers, and a reflection on my 2023 photographs. It’s one of those Februaries, so let’s leap into it.
Jodi Hunt’s Great British Design
Screen print by Kate Gibb, lettering by Jodi Hunt, and photograph by Adaeze Okaro.
You might recognize the above book cover from my 2023 Favorite Book Covers post, a fantastic series of choices that speak to all colors while definitively saying, “Black.” It’s Nice That has a short post talking about Jodi Hunt, who designer that cover — and more.
Design by Jodi Hunt.
The screen printing is prominent here, too, and the interaction between that and title are, to borrow a Britishism, “ace.” And the below, with its slightly haunting image treatment (and that great text, lower left), also earns kudos:
Design by Jodi Hunt.
Great design, deservedly highlighted. See the other examples here.
The original Book Design
Ernest Lefébure, Embroidery and Lace: Their Manufacture and History from the Remotest Antiquity to the Present Day (1888), with binding created by May Morris
Before there was book design, or even graphic design — that is, when books and pages were thought of as art instead of design — folks were still coming up with great book covers. The Grolier Club, “America’s oldest and largest society for bibliophiles and enthusiasts,” has a wonderful exhibit of cover design . . . made up exclusively of antiques.
Lynd Ward, Gods’ Man: A Novel in Woodcuts, 1929, and Madman’s Drum: A Novel in Woodcuts, 1930.
One of the most memorable artworks […] is a sumptuous but comparatively delicate volume, a 1643 book of psalms created in London. Atmospheric exposure usually turns white silk-bound editions tan and brown, but this cover is a shiny cream color. The polychrome silk and gold metallic threads, which wind around one another to form a colorful floral pattern, maintain an eye-catching vibrancy. The only sign of the book’s age is the oxidized silver “stumpwork,” a type of raised embroidery that in this case resembles beading.
— Elaine Velie, Hyperallergic
The quote above refers to the book in this month’s cover image, second from left, and is but one where what you see isn’t necessarily what you think it is — it’s more complex, more interesting, made with what the artist had available in the day. Great reminders, all, that book design has a much longer history than what we think of when we hear the term.
“Meticulous incisions and methodical folding allow scenes to arise from aged books and color swatches in Thomas Allen’s paper cutouts,” This is Colossal notes — but a picture is worth a thousand words:
Timber by Thomas Allen.
The vintage paperback work happened by complete accident. I was cutting into a pulp novel one afternoon with the intent of removing the illustration completely when I noticed that if I left some areas attached, folded the parts carefully, and looked at them from a single vantage point so that everything aligned, they created the illusion of 3D pop-ups. Everything snowballed from there.
— Thomas Allen, via This is Colossal
The three-hour cutout: Shipwreck, by Thomas Allen.
Here’s his desk — whoa:
Test cutouts in Allen’s studio, via This is Colossal.
The Article’s Great — but the Headline is the Point.
“Virality over Creativity.” Few things summarize the last few years more — it’s always about getting eyeballs, not about truth or quality. It’s satisfying the algorithm. Because, of course, these days, media is social.
Real or AI?
POV, a new series of articles from It’s Nice That examines, in this case, creativity and AI in design for the music industry. “If an artist isn’t putting a piece of themselves and their experience into the work,” it asks, “why should anyone care?”
All valid questions, yes. But it’s the headline that provides another potential word of the year: virality.
The times we live in . . . .
Some of my Favorite 2023 Photographs
I’ve updated my photography page with my favorites of 2023, including these two:
Blue Against Blue Against Blue, 943 Ellis St.
The above, taken in Augusta, is architecture that doesn’t make me feel blue, while the below, taken on the main street in Sparta, does:
Bulb Moment, 12745 Broad St.
A couple of reflections: I didn’t get out as much as I did in 2022, and regret it, and have somehow pretty much eschewed both black-and-white and effects (film grain, light leaks, etc.), and kind of regret that, too. Both things to do differently in 2024.
That said, six years after investing in a different style of photography, I’m settling in — and looking forward to the future. I hope you are, too.
We round out 2023 — how’d that happen? — with some items pulled from the stockings: PRINT on a few favorite books and two different photography contests that impress. (Plus bonuses thrown in, just ’cause.)
Books in PRINT
Book designer Daniel Benneworth-Gray brings us some of his favorite books on design published in 2023:
It’s that time of year when “stop asking for books, you have too many books, look at all these piles of bloody books” echoes around our house. My excuse for all this tsundokustacking: it’s professional research! After all, my job is just … book. Plus I have an untested but absolutely correct theory that books pay for themselves by acting as insulation and thus reducing your heating bill.
— Daniel Benneworth-Gray, PRINT
They act in that role here at my place, too. In any case, I agree with several of his choices enough to highlight them:
The Graphic Design Bible has won numerous accolades this year, and reminds us that despite . . . well, the internet, a well-edited, well-curated examination of a subject as diverse as graphic design benefits from book form.
Saul Leiter’s mid-century photographic genius earned him a long career, as proven by just glancing at the cover photograph on this latest tome:
Lastly, something I’ve added to my wish list:
Note: UK cover shown, ’cause it’s better.
It’s great that PRINT pulled this article from behind the unfortunate mess that is Substack and out into the light. Enjoy.
Special bonus #2:The Guardian reminds us that, for younger readers especially, reading print improves comprehension far more than looking at digital text.
Fantastic Landscape Photographs
“2023 International Landscape Photographer of the Year Winners,” PetaPixel announces, and some of these are just wonderful:
International Landscape Photographer of the Year: photo by runner-up Andrew Mielzynski.
Interestingly, this one reminds me a good deal of last month’s Natural Landscape winner from Adam Gibbs. (Maybe birches in water are a thing; I don’t do trends.) Also, kudos to this black-and-white taken right here in Georgia:
Winner of the Aerial Award, a special category. Taken in George L Smith State Park, Georgia, by Jim Guerard.
Again, like last month, here are two beautiful shots from the same photographer highlighted:
International Landscape Photographer of the Year: third-place photo by Matt Meisenheimer.International Landscape Photographer of the Year: third-place photo also by Matt Meisenheimer.
“The incredible winning images,” PetaPixel announces of reFocus, a black-and-white-only photography competition, split into both professional and non-professional categories. (PetaPixel seems to have taken the flame that DPReview used to represent and run with it, thankfully.)
Overall professional winner Bill Pack and a small Mercedes:
reFocus Awards Black & White Photo Contest: “CarScape” by Bill Pack.
“Sensual” might be an understatement there. Meanwhile, there seem to be some overlap between categories, but when you can capture action like these two, maybe they just wanted to make room for both:
reFocus Awards Black & White Photo Contest: Oddly-filed Domestic Animals winning photo by David Zlotky.reFocus Awards Black & White Photo Contest: Event winner from Laura Thomson.
Wow. Meanwhile, there are landscapes and architecture, too:
reFocus Awards Black & White Photo Contest: Winner, landscape (non-professional) by Thomas de Franzoni.reFocus Awards Black & White Photo Contest: Eyes of the Sea, winning architecture by Hilda Champion.
We round out this list with something shot on film:
reFocus Awards Black & White Photo Contest: Winner of the film/analog non-professional category by Shinya Ichikawa.
Wonderful. See all the winners at the (thankfully well-presented) reFocus website.
Leica’s 2022 version of the M6 film camera, a bargain at $5695. (Lens not included.)
Special Bonus #3: Speaking of film, Nick Heer reminds us why he’s a daily read: The Neverending Film Photography ‘Resurgence’. (The Leica is relevant, not just me taking an opportunity to post a photograph of their awesome gear.)
Foreword . . . On Towards 2024
The end of 2023 hasn’t seen as much posting as I’d like, something I’m hoping to change once the new year gets underway — starting with the annual list of my favorite book covers of the year mid-January. Meanwhile, wishing you and yours all the best in 2024 and beyond.
That little town — more a hamlet, really — is called Deepstep, and I’ve marked it for a stop since. On the way home from Augusta (part 1, part 2), I finally had the opportunity.
Alonzo G. Veal & Son (What We Don’t Have, We Can Get), 9665 Deepstep Rd.Veal & Son Building Detail #1, 9665 Deepstep Rd.
What a great little spot.
Gate and Field, 9665 Deepstep Rd.Outbuilding and Pine, 9731 Deepstep Rd.
The gallery’s only eighteen photographs, but absolutely a worthy addition to the newly revised Middle Georgia group. Those galleries cover everything from Pine Mountain in the west to Sandersville in the east, Madison in the north to Dublin in the south.
Indeed, I’ve rearranged pretty much all of the Georgia galleries:
The new Georgia gallery group: five items instead of three, all featuring rearranged contents.
As mentioned yesterday, I’ve been meaning to get to downtown Augusta with a camera for years. Actually, that not correct: I’ve been meaning to get to downtown Augusta . . . period. I’d never been there, despite living 130 miles away for almost two decades, despite having been nearby, despite — well, you get the idea.
Statue at James Brown Plaza, Broad St. and Augusta Common
So it was a pleasure to get to the home of Woodrow Wilson, James Brown, Jessye Norman, and countless others — and see a city a lot like so many others in the American South, a city that’s struggling with identity, history, vacancy, gentrification, and so many other issues prevalent in the 2020s.
The Confederates and the Albion, Broad St.
One of them is the continued presence of a huge Confederate memorial, a shame in a majority-Black city — and just in front of the Lamar Building, soon to be luxury apartments. What message are Augusta, and its new luxury residents, sending?
Miller and Lamar, Broad St.
Nonetheless, the day’s efforts resulted in some satisfying images, from architecture to neat details:
Augusta Cotton Exchange Building #1, 32 8th St.Miller Theater (Entry Detail), 708 Broad St.Edgar’s Above Broad (Logo) Sign, 699 Broad St.
Augusta is a riverfront city I’m looking forward to returning to. In the meantime, please enjoy a total of 128 photographs in the newly-posted gallery.
Together with Columbus and Macon, Augusta is one of Georgia’s “Fall Line” cities, and is home to more than 200,000 people. Located on the eastern edge of the state on the Savannah River, it was founded by James Oglethorpe in 1736 on the site of a Native American river crossing.
Augusta has long been on the to-photograph list, but it’s just far enough away from Macon to make a quick, unplanned trip difficult — so this past weekend, when another trip was cancelled, I took advantage of the available time and made it happen.
Blue Against Blue Against Blue, 943 Ellis St.
Of course, rather than a quiet Sunday downtown, I ran headlong — no pun intended — into the Augusta Ironman marathon. There were crowded street corners, intersections closed aplenty, and a combination of competitors and supporters everywhere.
Boll Weevil Cafe and Sweetery, 10 James Brown Blvd.
Nonetheless, it was a beautiful early-fall day in Georgia, and over the course of several hours, I really enjoyed photography in downtown Augusta — as usual, without people in the shots.
Decorative Facade, 103 Macartan St.
Excepting, of course, The Godfather of Soul:
Spirit of Funk Mural, 190 James Brown Blvd.
The photostroll also included the Riverwalk, a stretch both at water level and atop the levee — doing my best to stay out of the runners’ way, moving around to the chants of “water!” and “ice!”
Fountain at Riverwalk Enterance (#1), James Brown Blvd.Savannah River at Augusta, Georgia
The first 64 photographs — part one of two — have been posted to the new Augusta gallery. Stay tuned for the second part, along with a bonus gallery and some housekeeping news, tomorrow.
As summer turns to fall, let’s take a look at Type 1 fonts, a library index, revolutionary posters, posters for “get lectured,” and two different photography contests. Let’s get right into it.
Adobe discontinues a standard: The Type 1 font
Back in the early days of desktop publishing — up to about the turn of the century, give or take — everything typographic used PostScript, a programming language by Adobe. (Other stuff, too, like Adobe’s vector program, Illustrator.) PostScript fonts were the so-called “Type 1” variety, made up of a bitmapped “suitcase” that housed the standard display sizes and an outline file used by the output device to print clean, what-you-see-is-what-you-get beauty.
The Apple LaserWriter Plus and some vintage Macs: nostalgia! (Note the book — heh.) Image: YouTube.
Companies from Apple to Microsoft didn’t want Adobe to hold a monopoly on output tech, so later fonts evolved into TrueType and then OpenType, the latter of which is the standard today.
So much so that Adobe has now discontinued Type 1, and they, along with Microsoft, have stopped being supported. Which is understandable and yet a shame: some of us still have hundreds of them.
It’s Nice That has a post that reminds us of a library’s central purpose: to leave knowing more than you did when you entered. “The library, in our shared public imagination, is a special place,” the author argues — reminding us of what libraries were established to do, often distinctly different from the modern reality (especially in the United States).
In the library you begin to be convinced that language matters, that words have the power to clarify, to rouse, to make us feel something, to help us understand the political and cultural features of historical and contemporary moments.
Lola Olufemi, It’s Nice That
All the Libraries in London. Cover design: unknown. Image via It’s Nice That.
All the Libraries in London does something artistic with a simple listing, elevating it, reminding us how compelling the ideal that libraries represent really is:
This is a political and artistic listing, one that invites the reader to rediscover their own memories of their local library as a site of discovery. The book’s authors invite us to reflect on our personal relationship to libraries as well as the necessity of collectively securing their future existence.
Lola Olufemi, It’s Nice That
Alan Kitching, Durning Library. Image via It’s Nice That.
We need more of this everywhere, but especially here in the States. Meanwhile, check out this great item at It’s Nice That.
Special Bonus #1: Another British treasure, via the very British Antiques Roadshow (a British original, natch): this incredible poster by Ralph Steadman.
Ralph Steadman’s Where the Buffalo Roam (1980) poster. Image via Wikipedia.
Special Bonus #2: British book designer Steve Leard has launched a new book design podcast, Cover Meeting, featuring interviews between Leard and fellow book designers on the work, the industry, and more. The Bookseller has more.
Cuban Movie Posters. No, Really.
While we’re on the subject of great posters — and It’s Nice That — let’s talk about how Cuba’s revolution-era political posters transformed their poster design for films. Appropriately enough, a new film, El Cartel Cubano, highlights these amazing (and, likely, never seen before) items.
Besos Robados, ICAIC, by Sotolongo & Carole Goodman. Image via It’s Nice That.
“How come our posters in the US aren’t this beautiful? What did this say about the priorities of the revolution? What did the medium or choices in the scarcity of materials used say about the economic situation in Cuba?” It’s these questions which form the bedrock of El Cartel Cubano, a fascinating and tender tribute to the artists on the island.
Adrienne Hall, co-director, El Cartel Cubano
Sur, by Michael Myiares Holland. Image via It’s Nice That.
I have to admit: this isn’t a subject I would have leapt at, but It’s Nice That sold it. Awesome.
Get Lectured (on Architecture)
Closing out our trifecta of great posters, Archinect‘s Get Lectured series brings us these fantastic items from their Fall 2023 series:
Woodbury University School of Architecture’s Fall 2023 lecture series.The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture’s Fall 2023 lecture series
Going to soapbox a little here: pay-to-enter photo contests aren’t usually something I want to spread the word about. So ArchDaily‘s basically-a-press-release, “URBAN Photo Awards 2023 has announced its list of Finalist Photographers, marking the penultimate stage of the international contest,” was guaranteed a pass.
But there’s a problem: some of the photographs are really compelling.
Winners of the 2023 Black and White Photography Awards
Another contest, yes. They’re everywhere. But … wow.
Street Lights – Ottawa, by Gareth Jones, category winner, architectureAnother mushroom? By Hector Ballester Ballester. Silver mention, architecture.Alamillo bridge, by Manuel Ponce Luque. Finalist.The concert, by Helena García Huertas. Finalist.Reflections on the stairwell, by Max Dobens. Finalist.
And that’s just the buildings/architecture — there are portraits, street photography, landscapes, and more. A reminder to aspire, every day, with every image.
Two different photographic opportunities have meant additions to the Automotive gallery recently: some motorcycles in Columbus, and some BMWs at an event in Hampton, a suburb of Atlanta and home to the Atlanta Motor Speedway.
All of these were taken with Leica’s superlative APO 90mm macro (yes, I know, I go on and on about this lens — it’s that good), and almost all are just details — a lens that long in a crowd means leaving the big picture aside in favor of the minutiae. Luckily, that’s a strength of the camera system, and one of my favorite ways to use it.
Retro BMW (Motorrad) RoundelHarley Davidson Star Logo (Detail)
The Harley logo wasn’t one I was familiar with — and it’s great — but the BMW is fantastic in its retro glory, complete with copper screws.
Meanwhile, speaking of BMWs, they hold their Ultimate Drive Experience yearly in the Atlanta area, and Gerald and I are in regular attendance. It was my first time seeing a number of new models, including the new M2:
M2 (Headlight Detail)
Didn’t like this until I saw it there; it’s a shortened M4 but wide and swollen in all the right ways. However, the undisputed star of the show was the new XM. Like many modern BMWs, it’s better in person — exuding presence:
XM (Charging)
I wish I’d somehow been able to better convey its stance, its proportions, and what I imagine it would look like coming up behind you. Then again, $160k and 664 horsepower will do that. Speaking of horsepower:
XM (M Power V8 Hybrid)
Nuthin’ like a carbon fiber engine cover in a three-ton machine. That said, for both Gerald and I the far-and-away favorite wasn’t the XM but rather the iX:
iX (Badge Detail)
The iX is a little ungainly from some angles, but its battery-powered, carbon fiber goodness is both fast and efficient. Plus, it sports one of the best BMW interiors going right now, and that’s saying something. (Ventilated wool seats for the win, folks.)
These events usually boast parking lots filled with classics, but either the late Sunday afternoon or thunderstorms kept the older items safely garaged. However, there was a sweet and very bright red i8 gracing the scene:
Gerald and I were in Georgia’s lower Chattahoochee River valley yesterday, visiting the city of Columbus — and ran across a couple of treasures. Naturally, there was a camera handy.
The first is the best restaurant I’ve enjoyed in a long while: The Animal Farm.
The Animal Farm, 105 W. 12th St.
If you’re in or going to be going to Columbus anytime soon, I cannot recommend it highly enough. The food was superlative, the service excellent, and the ambiance simultaneously upscale, casual, and fresh.
The second — and no less tasty — stop was the Ma Rainey Museum of the Blues. This period house downtown is small but demonstrates a remarkable comeback from the (literal) wreckage they started with in the ’90s. I’d originally wanted to return to the Columbus Museum, but it’s being renovated; Gerald’s suggestion here was pitch-perfect.
Ma Rainey House, 805 5th Ave.Ma Rainey House Marker, 805 5th Ave.Bust and Albums, Ma Rainey House, 805 5th Ave.Record Player Detail, Ma Rainey House, 805 5th Ave.
Inside, Gerald and I enjoyed a lengthy conversation with Xavier, a guide who was knowledgeable and enthusiastic; he absolutely made us want to explore more blues history. (I’m also going to be listening to some Ma Rainey on Tidal.)
Meanwhile, gallery of Columbus photographs is deep and varied, spanning almost fifteen years and 180 items — check it out.
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.
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.
Macon County, Georgia, hosts Montezuma, a railroad crossroads on the Flint River. Officially dating to 1851, it was named after the Aztec leader by soldiers returning from the Mexican-American War.
Montezuma Sign (Crepe Myrtles), S. Dooly St.
I’ve been meaning to stop with a camera for a while, but it’s always been a pass-through on the way elsewhere — the route from Macon to Andersonville, Americus, and all points southwest go through Montezuma — but it’s taken until now to actually stop.
Bench Detail, Montezuma Methodist, N. Dooly St.
Like a substantial part of rural Georgia, Montezuma has fallen on increasingly hard times; the population continues to drop1See Wiki’s article., the empty storefronts multiply, and many of the beautiful old Southern houses need some attention:
Slight Repairs Needed, 510 S. Dooly St.
There’s an attractive downtown, though, with old brick buildings and a wonderful historic railroad depot:
Museum Sign, Old Railroad Depot, Dooly & E. Railroad Sts.Bracket Detail #1, Old Railroad Depot, Dooly & E. Railroad Sts.
Did I mention that it’s a railroad crossing? There are two sets downtown:
Railroad Apparatus #4, Dooly & E. Railroad Sts.
Despite the population loss and storefronts marked “for rent,” however, all isn’t lost. There are some new businesses opening:
Sweet Window, 127 Cherry St.
I’ve posted 55 photographs in the new Montezuma gallery — peruse and enjoy. And, as always, thanks for stopping by.
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.
After leaving Zebulon (see below) last Thursday, I continued northeast into the beautiful spring morning. My destination was Senoia, a town of about 5,000 that has a lovely, old-time feel, and is usually busy due to its “touristy” nature. There’s a film studio (!), and major productions like Driving Miss Daisy and The Walking Dead have used it for a location. Plus, given its proximity to Atlanta, it’s a popular day trip for city dwellers looking for a getaway.
Gerald and I were there last April, and while I had a camera with me, I only took a few photographs and didn’t like any of them. But a church window had stuck in my head, we enjoyed the visit, and I determined to return.
This time: success. Starting with that church window:
Church of God of Prophesy (Window #1), Main and Johnson Sts.
Elsewhere in the historic district, fantastic Southern porches await:
The Veranda Historic Inn, 252 Seavy St.
While amongst the dogwood blossoms, there was even a porch for our feathered friends:
Bird House, 128 Travis St.
But it’s downtown that folks come to visit:
Shops and Eats on the Hill (#2), Main St.Book Light (Reflecting Tour), 53 Main St.Giraffe at Foxhollow, 7 Main St.The Classic Market, 30 Barnes St.
Plenty of history here, too:
The Museum and the Water Tower (From Baggarly Way)Light and Lights Detail, 61 Main St.
A total of 57 photographs — clearly, it was a good time — have been posted to the Senoia gallery. No matter the weather where you are, wander a picturesque small town on a beautiful spring day.
