Giles Hoover

Photography and design for print production

Tag: photostroll

  • New Regional Imagery Gallery: Duluth, Georgia (Part 2)

    New Regional Imagery Gallery: Duluth, Georgia (Part 2)

    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 Green
    Duluth 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.

    Check out the full Duluth gallery and, as always, thanks for stopping by.

  • New Regional Imagery Gallery: Duluth, Georgia (Part 1)

    New Regional Imagery Gallery: Duluth, Georgia (Part 1)

    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 1026
    Caboose 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 750
    Chattahoochee 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.

  • New Regional Imagery Gallery: Johns Creek Boardwalk

    New Regional Imagery Gallery: Johns Creek Boardwalk

    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.

    Grassy Path, Morning Sun, 11362 Lakefield Dr.

    See all 31 photographs from this early-morning walk.

  • New Regional Imagery Gallery: Monroe, Georgia

    New Regional Imagery Gallery: Monroe, Georgia

    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.

    See the whole gallery here.

  • Updated Regional Imagery Gallery: Downtown Macon, Georgia

    Updated Regional Imagery Gallery: Downtown Macon, Georgia

    Note: Title updated with the reorganized sorting system.

    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!

  • Gallery Update: Mercer University, 2025

    Gallery Update: Mercer University, 2025

    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.

    Pi Kappa Phi Bell, Perhaps Overrung, Winship St.
    University Center Entrance (from Adams St.)
    Hawkins Arena Entrance #2, Adams St.
    University Commons, Penfield Hall, Edgewood Ave.
    Mercer Softball (Bleachers), Sikes Field
    Jack Tarver Library #2, 1501 Mercer University Dr,.

    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. ↩︎
  • New Gallery Bonus: Deepstep, Georgia. (Also, a New Georgia Gallery Setup.)

    New Gallery Bonus: Deepstep, Georgia. (Also, a New Georgia Gallery Setup.)

    A while back, on the road from Milledgeville to Sandersville, I spied a sign:

    Giles Cross Roads, 11917 Deepstep Rd.

    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.

    Atlanta gets its own (to be expanded soon, I hope); the cities of Augusta, Columbus and Savannah another; Macon, my home base, a third; the aforementioned Middle Georgia, a fourth; and finally North and South Georgia (Helen, St. Simon’s, etc.).

    As always, thanks for taking the time to stop by.

  • New Gallery: Augusta, Georgia (Part Two)

    New Gallery: Augusta, Georgia (Part Two)

    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.

    Augusta Riverwalk Marina (with Freedom Bridge)