Zebulon

Last week I drove to Zebulon to drop off my photos for the Slow Exposures show. The show begins this Friday (September 19). I will be there in the afternoon on the 19th and 20th. The show is in Concord in the R.F. Strickland Building. This is a big show in a small town. I kind of like that.

Zebulon is a nice town. When I told my daughter I had been to Zebulon that day – she said that sounded like a different planet. Well, when you compare Zebulon with Atlanta; it is like a different planet. The little town is vibrant and has some interesting shops. The bookstore, A Novel Experience, was my destination for drop off of the photos. This bookstore is wonderful. It is large and full of many interesting things besides new and used books. I made a mental note that I do need to return to Zebulon with my camera and some time.

I did take my camera with me on the short trip to Zebulon. Not knowing exactly how long it would take for me to arrive, I did not stop on the way there. As I passed something of interest, I decided to stop on the way home – if I did not get lost on the way back!

Hollonville is another small town that I passed through on the way. Just south of this town I spotted an interesting old cemetery on the side of the road. There was a small place to pull off the road and that was it, nothing more. A peach orchard was just through some trees. On the way back to Fayette, I stopped here to take some photos.

In the cemetery, and the closest to the road, were false crypts. These are a coffin size and like structures that are built on the grave. The body is below ground – hence the name “false” crypt. These were very interesting and rather primitive looking. The slabs of stone were crudely cut and just laying on top. At the back of a couple of the false crypt were what appeared to be a tombstone built in to that side of the crypts. I have seen false crypts before – but none that looked like these. Of course I took photos. The lighting at the time was not what I wanted – and of course I want to go back.

There are many places like Zebulon and the cemetery on the side of the road – it just takes a little time to get out there and find them.

The Little Yellow Spider

Sometimes you aren’t interested in taking a photo at all. Some days you can’t find anything that is interesting. One day you stop to think and realize it has been days – maybe weeks since you took a photo of anything. Or maybe you have been taking photos but you don’t care for any of them.

This has been my problem lately. I have been what you call, uninspired.

There have been times I could not wait to get out the door with the camera and back to the computer to see the photos. I would stand in my yard with so many options I did not know which way to go first.

My dry spell, rut, photographer’s block was no fun and I think – I hope – thank goodness – it is over. Thanks to a little yellow crab spider I spent quite a bit of time taking photos last night. Monday evening – after dinner – it is get the trash to the street for the next day time at my house. As I moved one of the large garbage cans I spied this little brilliant yellow crab spider. I think it must have come from the Brown-Eyed Susan flowers near the area. The color of the spider seemed to match the petals of the flowers fairly closely.

As I watched it I thought I needed to go get the camera. So I did. I put on the 10x close up diopter for some “super” macro action. For the next 20 minutes I took photos and chased the spider around the top of the can. At one point it was hanging suspended by a web thread. I had the camera on continuous shooting to take a series of it as it twisted and turned. The shots are not completely sharp as expected since the spider was in constant motion. After a short while – it swung over to my tripod! Had it shot the web over to the tripod like Spiderman swinging from building to building? As it made its way onto my camera strap – I found a small stick to lift it back to the garbage can. I took a few more photos and then decided I had traumatized this spider enough. But you know – that little spider never seemed to be afraid of me or my camera – it was incredibly feisty!

I think I had been in a rut because I have such a desire to always look for those photos that are different. There are only so many “butterfly on the bush” photos you can take. The little yellow spider was fun, unexpected, and provided me with some really different abstract images.

With this latest inspiration – I plan to go on a spider hunt in the backyard soon. Because I am such a reluctant gardener – there are plenty weeds and great places for spiders to live. I am sure I have quite a few.

Fall Photo Shows

On Friday I received notice in the mail that three of the four submissions I sent in for the Arts Clayton Annual Juried Photography Competition made it through the jury process. So now I have three more photos to have framed for a show! I have been in need of a lot of framing lately! It is not a problem – and if it was a problem – it is a good one.

This Saturday, September 6, there is a launch party for Arts & Expressions magazine at Dogwood Gallery in Tyrone. The magazine is in its 6th year and is coming out with a whole new look. It is very exciting. A couple of my photos are featured in the “Gifts by Hand” section of the magazine – so I will definitely be there and the photos featured in the magazine will be hanging for the party. If you are in the area, come to the party, it starts at 6:30.

Greg Blair at Dogwood has been taking care of all of my framing needs lately. He is great to deal with and I love that gallery! It is quite a jewel to have in Fayette County. Check out the website www.dogwoodgallery.net

The next event after the magazine launch party is Slow Exposures in Concord. I will be at the show September 19 & 20. Greg has just about completed the framing for this show for me. I have to take the framed pieces to Zebulon prior to September 13. I am very excited about Slow Exposures. Slow Exposures is open September 19-21 and 26-28.

And now, the new competition comes after Slow Exposures at the Arts Clayton Gallery in Jonesboro. This show will hang at the gallery for the month of October. The opening reception for this show is October 2. For more information on Arts Clayton and the show, you can visit their website at www.artsclayton.org/gallery.

This is the first year I submitted images for both Slow Exposures and Arts Clayton. I am pleased to have made it into both shows.

In November I will be participating in a joint show with a local potter. We have talked about a doing a show together for quite a while – and now it is going to happen. The dates for this show are November 16-18 and at will be at The Hollingsworth House in Fayetteville. When the details are worked out and the website for the show is up and running – I will provide more information here.

In addition to all of these shows, this week I begin the fall session of digital photography and photo editing classes at the Fayette Senior Services Center. These classes end the week before Thanksgiving.

It is going to be a busy fall!

Michael C. Carlos Museum

This past week I visited the Michael C. Carlos Museum on the Emory University campus in Atlanta. Not many people know of this museum. It has been around for quite a while. The collections at Emory date back to 1876. I am not sure when it became known by the current name. The building that houses the museum now was designed by Michael Graves. The photography policy here is no flash and none in the traveling exhibit. In the regular collection found on the first floor, I got some pretty good shots. The only lens I took with me was the Lensbaby. You can tell by looking at this photo the left side has that "Lensbaby slur." Next time I visit I think I will take my 50mm 1.4, it is good in low light and, well, no flash means low light. I did bump up my ISO to 800 since I was handholding and wanted to minimize handshake. The lighting is dim in the exhibit halls.

The Carlos has a spectacular collection of Ancient Egyptian, Greek, Roman, African, Asian, and Ancient American art. The museum also hosts educational programs and traveling exhibits. One traveling exhibit that will get the Carlos some notice is the latest King Tut exhibition that will make its North American debut in Atlanta this November. The Tut exhibit will not be at the Carlos – the Carlos is too small to host such an event on property. The Carlos is the host museum – but the exhibit will be at the Atlanta Civic Center. At the Carlos you will find a photographic exhibition in connection with the Tut exhibit.

The website for the Carlos Museum is http://www.carlos.emory.edu/ and the website for detailed information on the Tut exhibit is http://www.kingtut.org/.

If anyone reading is interested – tomorrow – August 24 – I will be at The Veranda Inn B&B in Senoia at 3pm for a program on preserving, duplicating, and restoring old photos.