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.
The same trip that took me to Johns Creek also gave me the opportunity to spend a day in Duluth. This is the first of two posts covering that Atlanta suburb. This time: the Southeastern Railway Museum.
Duluth Depot
Atlanta foundations are, famously, as a railroad crossroads — the biggest in the Southeast — but Duluth, 30 miles to the northeast, was for a long while a rural outpost. (Atlanta’s growth has changed that.)
Georgia Railroad 1026Caboose and Box (Detail)
The Southeastern Railway Museum celebrates this strong history of railroading in the area with an interesting and varied collection of locomotives, cars of all types, and associated materials, from models to support vehicles.
Central of Georgia Passenger (#1)Georgia Building Authority Car
There’s a good selection of items from Georgia, from multiple eras. And, of course, a bunch of items from the age of steam:
Savannah & Atlanta 750Chattahoochee Valley Railroad 21 (Detail)
While I’d suggest a visit when the weather is cooler — the exhibits are, by their nature, mostly in open spaces — if you’re at all a railroad buff (or care for one), check out this enjoyable venue an easy day trip from anywhere in the greater Atlanta area. Or, combine it with a stay in Duluth or Johns Creek and explore.
NRHS Chapter Special (Sign)
36 photographs have been posted to the new Duluth gallery. The link will be posted with part two on Monday. Thank you! (Update:Posted.)
Update: I discovered after the fact that the Museum doesn’t allow professional photographers — oops. To honor their policy, I’ve turned off the option for ordering prints (and don’t make anything from the website anyway), but am leaving the post as encouragement for readers to patronize this valuable collection.
The City of Johns Creek, a suburb of Atlanta, recently opened The Boardwalk at Town Center, a 20-acre park and walking area centered around City Hall. The upgrade turned a scenic view for those that worked nearby into a vibrant park and performance venue for all. The transformation also included re-wilding a section of Johns Creek — the waterway, that is — from a man-made lake to something much more pleasant, much more natural, and something that locals and visitors alike can use and enjoy year-round.
Johns Creek City Hall #2, 11360 Lakefield Dr.
I was there at dawn and, as Georgia late-summer mornings go, I couldn’t have asked for a nicer time to wander.
Lakeside Relaxation (at Dawn), 11360 Lakefield Dr.
As part of the park’s construction, they’ve added a performance venue in front of City Hall, along with extensive landscaping and opportunities to sit lakeside.
Boardwalk Stairs, 6455 E. Johns Crossing(Walk to) 11330 Lakefield Dr. #1
The surrounding office park and shopping areas have added access to the park, as well, aiding the public’s ability to access the improved areas.
Former Lake Basin #3, 11362 Lakefield Dr.Former Lake Basin #5, 11362 Lakefield Dr.
The best area, however, is the former artificial lake basin at the southwestern end; between the raised walks and return of the waterway to nature, it’s become an valuable addition to this suburb populated mostly with busy roads, retail and planned living.
July photography in Georgia — even on a day that was “only” hot, as opposed to “scorching” or “overwhelmingly humid” — is a challenge. But yesterday’s photostroll was completely worth the effort.
Monroe Light Sign, S. Broad St.
Named after James Monroe, this north-central town is about an hour east of Atlanta; close enough to the city to be called an exurb, it has an excellent selection of amenities to choose from.
Sign to Rinse, 106 S. Broad St.Street frontages, N. Broad St.
Typical of towns of the era, it has an old-fashioned town square and 19th-century architecture everywhere you turn.
Old Monroe City Hall (Roofline Detail), 101 S. Broad St.Classic and Cast (Building Details), 124 N. Broad St.
The downtown area was well-tended — somebody did an excellent job with the flowers — and not only has chairs to savor the ice cream, but a center to appreciate the arts, as well.
Crepes A’wash, W. Washington St.Scoop a Spell, 140 N. Broad St.Monroe – Walton Center for the Arts (Building Detail), 205 S. Broad St.Monroe – Walton Center for the Arts (Garden #3), 205 S. Broad St.
I took the long way on a trip to “The A-T-L,” and enjoyed the visit very much. I hope you’ll enjoy the results.
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
This edition discusses new type, mergers and items set free, and visits with both some photo contest winners and winning poster designs. (And if you haven’t seen my annual Favorite Book Covers post, keep scrolling.) But first…:
Former President Carter
Commonwealth Club, San Francisco, 2013. Photograph by Ed Ritger. (CC 2.0.)
One of the strongest voices of reason left us on December 29th, 2024: former President Jimmy Carter. He’s the first president I actually remember, and one of the things I’ve appreciated about recent years is the growth of his stature from undeserved fill-in-label-here to treasured humanitarian.
I’d like to share a couple of items that are meaningful to me. First is his commitment to Habitat for Humanity — and not only as a speaker and fundraiser, but someone who contributed by actually swinging a hammer:
Former President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter. Photo via Habitat for Humanity.
Into their 90s and still working. Take it from David Letterman:
While we’re on the subject of David Letterman, this September, 1993 appearance shows both humanity and humor:
Another quick item is this 60 Minutes tour of his office — something that always speaks volumes about a person:
SLTF Bergamot Grotesk, an Art Deco-style, all caps headline face is a striking new option from Silverstag. This is trendy, of course — Art Deco is in — but timeless at the same time, and something I hope I have an opportunity to use.
Another is a new version that’s instantly a beautiful classic, Milla, hand-developed and a joy to look at:
Hoping for the perfect book project for this one.
Mergers … and Freedom
If you’ve not heard, Getty and Shutterstock have proposed a merger. This is, put simply, both understandable and … not good.
The rise of artificial intelligence has likely played a role in the merger; the combined assets of Shutterstock and Getty are a treasure trove of training data for AI companies. However, while AI licensing deals are an opportunity, it could also be an issue for stock photo companies as customers may decide to use AI image generators like Midjourney or DALL-E rather than pay for individual pictures.
— Matt Growcoot, PetaPixel
For the record, I completely agree with PetaPixel‘s Jason Schneider when he opines that it’s “yet another step in a race to the bottom.” The deal could possibly attract antitrust notice from the U.S. government; here’s hoping.
But it’s also hopeful — and slightly wonderful — that it’s new year, which means a new crop of items are now freed from the constraints of copyright. Kottke lists some of his favorites, and points us to a fantastic post from Duke University’s Center for the Public Domain, which has lists and links aplenty. (My favorite: Tintin.)
Special Bonus #1:This is Colossal, in 2016, also pointed us to another collection of freely-available items, this time from the New York Public Library. Great stuff.
Special Bonus #2: In a three-fer for This is Colossal, they also highlight a new campaign from the U.S. National Archives asking those who can read cursive — no longer a requirement in school, a completely daft decision we’ll leave for another time — to contribute some time translating historical items. (And that’s not all you can do.) Become a Citizen Archivist today.
Florida Atlantic University.University of Wisconsin at Madison.
The new year is off to a good start, too:
UCLA.UPenn.
UPenn’s fall ’24 poster is in the same vein and also rocks. Check out all the winners — and watch this space for more.
Winning Photography
I’m threatening to get a Raspberry Pi — the ol’ fashioned ad-blocker route is less and less effective, and a more robust alternative may be added — and was interested in this PetaPixel story about the desktop photos the system uses as standard: “[w]alking through a train station in New Zealand, Greg Annandale looks up to see his photo on an information screen. The Raspberry Pi computer powering the board has gone back to the desktop wallpaper which Annandale shot of a road in Iceland.”
That would be this one:
Road, Sólheimasandur, Iceland. Photo by Greg Annandale.
Couple of others:
Pia Fjord, Patagonia. Photo by Greg Annandale.Cordillera Darwin, Patagonia. Photo by Greg Annandale.
Next, I promised NASA would put in another appearance. How’s this:
Photo by Don Petit/NASA.
In what Ars Technica senior space editor calls “the best picture ever taken from the International Space Station,” we have something special indeed. “In this image, one can see the core of the Milky Way galaxy, zodiacal light (sunlight diffused by interplanetary dust), streaks of SpaceX Starlink satellites, individual stars, an edge-on view of the atmosphere that appears in burnt umber due to hydroxide emissions, a near-sunrise just over the horizon, and nighttime cities appearing as streaks.”
Wow.
To round things out for January, we have a couple of photo contests whose winners caught my eye. We’ll start with The Society of Photographers and their photographer of the year 2024. My faves:
Architectural Photographer of the Year award. Photograph by Andre Boto.Events Photographer of the Year award. Photograph by Mark Lynham.
While I wish their selections were more extensively labeled and/or titled, it’s still awesome to see the raw talent highlighted with well-deserved accolades. See the PetaPixel story or the contests’ website for more.
Lastly, some life in the wild, courtesy of the UK’s Natural History Museum People’s Choice Award:
Annoying Neighbour, Kiskunság National Park, Hungary. Photograph by Bence Máté.
“Eyeing one another” fails to do this one justice. And then there’s the Villarrica volcano:
Earth and Sky, Pucón, Chile. Photograph by Francisco Negroni.
But it’s the patience of this shot that wins it for me:
Edge of Night, near Vancouver, BC, Canada. Photograph by Jess Findley.
“Jess quietly watched the owl for several nights to understand its habits.
“He set up an invisible beam that would trigger a flash when the owl flew out of the barn. Simultaneously, a slow shutter speed gathered ambient light cast on the clouds and barn.
“On the tenth night, all the moving parts came together as the owl left to begin its hunt.”
This is my second try at a fall photostroll in Helen, a German-themed town in the Georgia mountains north of Athens, and I’ve got to tell you: Helen and I are not getting along.
Technically, it’s my fault. But I feel the relationship may have soured; I just might neglect to make a third attempt.
Unicoi Bridge into Helen, Georgia
In late October, 2019, I was there with an unfamiliar lens and although I took a stack of photographs, the vast majority of them were junk. I got eight — eight! — worth putting up. Again, my fault. But not at all the results I’d wanted.
This week, I was back. I had two beautiful fall days to make up the deficit.
Flags and (Brew) DecorLove Lock Bridge (Railing #1)
Day one saw 68 photographs taken with my favorite 35mm, but I could tell almost immediately that it wasn’t going the way I wanted. It was flooded with tourists — expected and okay, frankly, but not built for wider shots. “No problem,” I said to myself. I’ll enjoy some schnitzel, have a good night’s sleep, and clean up with the detail shots in the morning.
Bling Bling Blink Tourist BlindChristoff’s 76, Munich St.
Alas, not only did I get out of the wrong side of the bed, my back somehow got out of the other side — I wasn’t walking anywhere. Crap.
Bridge Lights, Main St.River Overlook, Eidelweiss St.
Worse, upon examination back in front of the big computer, I wound up with less than superlative results: only 30 of those 68 got posted.
