Book Design and Fine Photography
The first Friday of fall saw Gerald and I out celebrating the beautiful weather — and his new “creative camera,” a Leica M8 in pristine condition:
Which of course meant a quick spin around downtown. I was using my favorite lens, the 90mm macro, resulting in lots of detail shots:
With these latest additions, the Downtown Macon (2022+) gallery is at eighty photographs. Take a look.
Last weekend, Gerald and I took a summer road trip and photostroll through southwest Georgia — with stops in Andersonville and Americus.
Andersonville is a sobering place: “The deadliest ground of the American Civil War.” Further:
Nearly 13,000 men died on these grounds, a site that became infamous even before the Civil War ended. Their burial grounds became Andersonville National Cemetery, where veterans continue to be buried today. This place, where tens of thousands suffered captivity so others could be free, is also home to the National Prisoner of War Museum and serves as a memorial to all American prisoners of war.
National Park Service
We just visited the National Cemetery section of the park, with its closely-spaced Civil War graves, memorials, and reminders that it’s still in use today.
Later, we headed just down the road to the small city of Americus:
Both galleries — Andersonville and Americus — have been updated with new photographs. The new items start with “2022,” and remember that clicking on any photograph starts a slide show for that gallery. Thank you!
As promised, I returned to Madison, Georgia, to complete the gallery my camera battery didn’t permit last time. Special thanks to Gerald, who accompanied me around the beautiful downtown historic district and on the lovely drive from here to there.
This round is mostly details, taken with my stunning new Leica APO lens. (Introduced in this Macon post.) The whole line has been discontinued, so I am incredibly glad to have gotten one while they’re still available — every single photograph shows just how good this lens is. I’ll try to do it justice:
I’ve revamped the gallery with the new shots mixed in with the old. Several are improved versions of shots taken last time, meaning those were deleted in favor of the new ones.
132 Madison photographs have been posted in all. Peruse and enjoy; remember to click on any individual photograph to start a slide show, and if you’d like, click “buy” to get options for fine art prints in a variety of sizes and finishes. Thank you!
According to Southern Living magazine, “In Madison, Georgia, you can witness the power of tireless historic preservation efforts and take in the glory of old Southern architecture — from Greek Revival to Victorian, this town showcases all the great architectural styles.” (Read their day trip advice.)
It’s certainly worth taking some time to visit — and for this guy and his camera, the restaurants, shops, stroll-worthy streets, and simply spectacular historic district represent a great opportunity to add to the treasure trove of Georgia architectural photography.
A total of 90 (!) photographs have been posted to the new Madison gallery. Once there, click on any photo to enlarge or start a slide show.
I’m not done, either: I had two lenses with me, but only one battery — which gave out before I could make a round downtown with the second lens. I’ve got another trip through the area scheduled, and will absolutely make the time to return, camera in-hand, to complete the gallery. Stay tuned.
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:
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:
Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend!
As I mentioned in the last entry, Gerald and I were in Columbus, Georgia on Saturday, where our primary photographic mission was The Columbus Museum — specifically, its Olmsted Garden.
ArchDaily is to blame here; they pointed me to the following:
Celebrating the bicentennial of the birth of Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr., known as “the father of landscape architecture”, the Cultural Landscape Foundation has created an ever-growing digital guide of Olmsted’s most notable works.
I immediately looked up what was near me, and lo and behold…. (Full disclosure: the garden is actually by Bradley Olmsted, one of Fredrick’s sons.)
Of course, the building’s interesting, too, so there’s a good mix of architecture, gardens, architecture from the garden, and — you guessed it — garden architecture:
I enjoyed the visit, and as a result of that visit, added 32 new photographs to the Columbus gallery. (They’re grouped together: “Columbus Museum – Mar22.”) Peruse anytime; purchase if you’d like. Thank you!
Gerald and I were in Columbus, Georgia, today, which included a delicious lunch at The Black Cow — no word whether the name is related to the Steely Dan song — and which meant a few photographs:
One of several of the Post Office and Court House (the header photograph is that building, too), along with a few others from downtown:
Columbus is really well covered in its dedicated gallery: check it out. The majority of today’s photographs, however, were from the Columbus Museum; those will be posted Monday. Stay tuned.
The Ringling Museum in Sarasota, Florida has been a place I’ve been taking photographs since I lived in the area, almost twenty years ago now — and a place where I continue to enjoy taking photographs whenever possible.
The grounds have these amazing banyan trees, with root systems larger than many houses:
They’ve expanded over the years, adding buildings, a new entrance, and additions. This is the Chao Center for Asian Art:
The old Ca d’Zan gate is the new main entrance:
And, of course, the whole compound is right on Sarasota Bay:
Take a virtual stroll through the Ringling grounds with 24 new photographs, along with many more over the years, and a few extra photographs from Sarasota proper. Enjoy.
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:
Next was the park’s office and overlook complex:
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.
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:
See everything from Yatesville, pop. 408, here.
Next is an update from Thomaston, whose downtown square is typical of Georgia:
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, 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.
A few days ago, Jason Kottke posted an item that raised an important enough question — well, twenty of them — that I wanted to repeat it here. The questions stem from a 1981 quiz1Developed by Leonard Charles, Jim Dodge, Lynn Milliman, and Victoria Stockley, originally published in Coevolution Quarterly 32, from winter 1981, asking how well you know your local natural environment. They are:
I did poorly. (In the words of the authors, “It’s hard to be in two places at once when you’re not anywhere at all.”) In fact, I did so poorly that I decided to not only follow up on the questions but put my camera where my mouth is.
In answer to the first question, Macon and a good chunk of Middle Georgia get their drinking water from the Ocmulgee River:
In fact, this past weekend’s trip to Monticello and Barnesville were merely extensions of the trip to Jackson Lake and Dam, so I could see where the Ocmulgee starts. Next up is to trace the Yellow, Alcovy and South Rivers, which feed Jackson Lake. (See the rest of the photographs from the Jackson area.)
But I’d ask everyone reading this to ask yourselves the same questions. As Kottke points out, most of the people living here years ago would have known more of the answers than those of us who live in the built environment do. He passes on an idea from Rob Walker:
Pick one of the questions you don’t know the answer to – and make it a point to learn what that answer is. After you’ve mastered that, move on to a new question.
Go!
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:
Jackson Lake, formed by the Yellow, Alcovy, and South Rivers:
And Jackson proper, which has a traditional (for Georgia, at least) town square with a courthouse:
Also, this — with perhaps too cute a title:
All of these have been added to a new gallery. Check it out.
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:
And my chase of architectural details continues anew:
More to see in the updated gallery. (A reminder: once there, click on any photo to start a slideshow.)
Next, Barnesville:
Across Main Street is this:
Enjoy that updated gallery, too.
Bonus Update: Gave the 235 some exercise, too — which means a couple of photographs.
Spring is fleeting here in Middle Georgia — a heat wave next week promises triple-digit weather — so took the camera for a wander. Cochran and the other Middle Georgia State University was up first:
A few shots from Cochran’s downtown, as well:
See the new Cochran gallery here.
Next up was a brief stop on Chester — single photograph posted here — then Dublin, where Martin Luther King made his first public speech, in 1944. There’s a little park to commemorate:
Downtown, alas, prominently features a Confederate monument (like so many places here in Georgia):
We’re working on it. Meanwhile, check Dublin’s new gallery here.
Last but not least, added a few shots to Macon’s miscellaneous gallery:
Check the whole thing, covering almost fifteen years, here.
Special thanks to Prof. Gerald Lucas for the continued use of his Voigtlander 21mm ƒ1.8.
New this week is the delightful little town of Yatesville, on the road from Macon to Thomaston:
See the rest in the new Yatesville gallery. And speaking of Thomaston:
Only a few photographs in that gallery, but more when I get a chance. Next, Barnesville:
I could have sworn I had more photographs from there, but am glad to have at least added to that gallery. Lastly, I’ve added to the Forsyth gallery:
All of the new photographs are from Forsyth’s City Cemetery.
Enjoy!