Back in September, shortly after the spontaneous photostroll in Asheville, I spent a day wandering around the valley city of Roanoke, Virginia. I’d been there many times before, but only with a camera once (in 2018) — and said, at the time, that I’d like to plan to spend a minute documenting this interesting Southern city.
I finally had the chance.
Greenery in (City) View, Franklin Rd SE and S Jefferson St
It took longer than hoped. But I’m really pleased with the results.
Roanoke Vity Market Building, 100 Campbell Ave SE
Unlike Asheville, with its Art Deco vibes, Roanoke is more a mix of older, more traditional brick and ’70s/80s concrete and glass — with some more modern, exciting architecture on display.
Taubman Art Museum (Building Detail #1), 110 Salem Ave SEColonial American Bank (Clock), Campbell Ave SE and S Jefferson St(Not) Electric Charging Post, 102 Market St SE
Downtown is also surprisingly vertical. While there’s really only one skyscraper — the Wells Fargo tower — there’s a several-block radius that really says, “city.”
Skyward Amongst Buildings, 301 1st St SWAngled Windows Detail (#2), First Citizen’s Bank Building, 110 Church Ave SW
Which makes sense; by nature of its location, Roanoke benefits from being the largest metropolitan area in quite a little circumference, and is the only actual city in southwestern Virginia. And given its history, it’s heartening to see that there’s still a major railroading presence in the city.
Amtrak Roanoke #2, 55 Norfolk Ave SWConference and Higher Education Centers, from Hotel Roanoke Circle, 110 Shenandoah Ave NE
I’m glad to have spent this warm and beautiful day photographing Roanoke. Enjoy this preview, and please check back for part two — and the link to the full gallery of ninety selected photographs — on Thursday.
In Part 1, we were southwest of the proper city of Duluth at the Southeastern Railway Museum. This time, we’re in the town center.
Eastern Continental Divide Obelisk, (Across from) 3550 W. Lawrenceville St.
I have to admit: I had forgotten about the regional continental divides. In a nutshell, it’s the line that marks where waters flow — east and south go to the Atlantic, while west and north go to the Gulf of Mexico. (We all think of the one in the Rockies, sure, but they’re more of ’em!)
Buildings Overlooking Main Street Park (with Chairs) Duluth Town GreenDuluth City Hall #1 (with Town Green Fountain), 3167 Main St.
All of these photographs were taken on or near the lovely Town Green. Duluth may have a car-centric culture — it is a suburb of the perpetually-traffic-jammed Atlanta — but its downtown has ample opportunities to park the car and just walk around.
LA Burger #1 (Sign), 3151 Main St.LA Burger #4 (Screen Detail), 3151 Main St.Truck & Tap (Sign #2), 3137 Main St.
Aside from the various city structures (including the Festival Hall at the top of the post), there’s a huge library and a bunch of restaurants — several of which have been bookmarked for a later visit. There’s also this brand-new tribute to the city’s railroad past, named after former a former mayor:
Nancy Harris Pavilion #2 (Crossing Lights), 3178 Main St.Nancy Harris Pavilion #3 (Roof and Light Detail), 3178 Main St.
An enjoyable visit. I’m glad to have had the opportunity to enjoy a couple of days in the area, camera in-hand.
On a side note, the Duluth gallery — and the one from Johns Creek — have featured a new lens: a manual-focus, solidly-cheep=and-cheerful item from Chinese brand 7Artisans. The heavy vignetting is a result of its slightly ridiculous but enormously fun aperture of f0.95 (!), which enables extreme subject isolation, but at a cost of weight and size. The lens definitely features a “look,” but one that I’m glad to have available.
According to Google, at the corner of Coleman Avenue and Adams Street, in Macon, is home to Newton Hall — and more specifically, Mercer University Press.1Google is wrong: Mercer University Press isn’t actually on campus — they’re in a separate building nearer downtown. See this University Press Week blog tour post for more.
Mercer University (Newton Entrance), 1400 Coleman Ave.
Mercer one of more than 160 members of the Association of University Presses. I mention this because, a while back, I said regarding taking some photographs around the campus of Mercer University, “stay tuned.” In honor of AUP’s University Press Week, November 10–14, I’ve done just that.
Taken during a number of visits over fifteen years, a total of 100 photographs now populate the Mercer University gallery. Enjoy.
1
Google is wrong: Mercer University Press isn’t actually on campus — they’re in a separate building nearer downtown. See this University Press Week blog tour post for more. ↩︎
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
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.
Update, 26 June 2026: As part of the 2026 website and gallery overhaul, the Automotive gallery has been retired. I’ve left the post up for posterity.
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:
i8 Swoop
If you’re at all into cars, there are 150 photographs in the automotive gallery waiting for you to enjoy. (As the note says, “some bias may be shown.”)
Have a great weekend!
Update: Gerald had already posted on this, but I didn’t see it in time to link above. Thanks, man!
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.
