Photography and design for print production
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:
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.
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.
“Twice the city, twice the fun,” Bristol’s tourism web site says. While some might talk extensively about the Bristol Motor Speedway and its associated draws, I was only there to spend some time on the way to and from Maine. Using the superb Bristol Hotel as a base, I not only enjoyed the Blackbird Bakery and the Bristol Bagel & Bakery (no web site, alas) — both a great way to start a day — but also the excellent Vivian’s Table for dinner. That’s only the food; plenty more I didn’t get to, as well. Nice all around.
There were opportunities to take some photographs, too:
State Street downtown straddles the state line, meaning that this guy was in Virginia:
While this corner, two blocks down on the same street, is actually in Tennessee:
And here’s the best of both worlds: foreground in one state (TN) while background in another (VA):
Bristol was a pleasant surprise; will definitely return when the opportunity presents itself. In the meantime, enjoy a virtual visit with the new photography gallery.
Took the TTArtisans 50mm ƒ1.2 for a brief stroll today after lunch with Gerald. Gotta say: this thing is fun:
Note how the sign is into the bokeh practically before you’re through the sign’s second letter. This, too:
Does it begin to challenge Leica, or even Voigtlander? Certainly not — it’s a $98 (!) Chinese manual-focus crop lens shunned by almost all “real” Leica shooters. But for this short-depth-of-field fan, it’s worth the embracing the flaws. The updates are at the bottom of the page, marked, “Macon-Downtown_June-2021-x.” Enjoy.