Busted

Project 15 - Day 63

Look what I found hiding in my hard drive.

Busted

It's the G-man. This was taken last fall and filed away to process on another day. (The stair railing was coming out of his head and needed to be surgically removed.) It pays to peruse the hard drive on occasion, you never know what you might find that was overlooked the first time around.

Shooting Companions

Project 15 - Day 62

No visit to the Music City is complete without a photo excursion with my good friend -k-. Originally we had visions of getting together on multiple days, exploring the city, cameras and tripods in hand, and coming away with a plethora of masterpieces.  Then the rains came down, the flood came up and our vision was scaled back to one day. To add insult to injury there was not a plethora of masterpieces pouring forth from my camera on this day. Not even one. This day was about catching up with my favorite shooting companion. After all a trip to Nashville without a photo shoot with -k- is like a day without sunshine.

We crammed as much into that one morning as we could starting at 7:15 a.m. with a jaunt around Radner Lake. (You can read all about Radner's history here in -k's- always well written blog. She also has many more photos of this beautiful sanctuary.) We were joined on our walk by -k's- friend and the morning was filled with ohhs and ahhs as the two got their first look at their beloved Radner following Mother Nature's fury.

I tagged along often lagging behind as I tried to envision this tranquil spot sans muddy water, deep gullies, mud slides and more downed trees than I could count. Radner is now on my list of places to revisit. I want to experience it once Mother Nature mends the tears in her landscape and fashions a ball gown from the tattered house dress she is now wearing.

Wildlife abounds at Radner. Below is one of the several deer we encountered on our walk. My lens was not long enough to produce anything of quality but I couldn't resist an attempt.

From Radner we stepped back in time with a visit to Fort Negley, a sad tribute to the Union Army's occupation of Nashville. I'm having a difficult time recalling the history I read on the signage placed strategically around the fort but that's why God created Google.

"The Union Army captured Nashville in 1862. The river, turnpikes, and railroads had spurred the growth of the city from its beginnings. The Union Army occupied the city to control these transportation routes. Almost overnight, Nashville was transformed into the Union Army’s major supply depot for the Western Theater of the war.

2,768 people built Negley. It was the largest of a group of forts built by the Union, and the largest inland masonry fort built during the Civil War. It was 600 feet long, 300 feet wide, and covered four acres of land. The workers lived in a contraband camp on the northeast side of the worksite, and were both free blacks and slaves who had been conscripted by the Union to serve as laborers. Between 600 and 800 died during the construction, and only 310 ever received pay."

Today the old fort lies in ruins on it's perch high above the city. I'm not certain many Nashvilians even know of it's existence.

We finished our shooting spree at Nashville's City Cemetery. I have a thing for old cemeteries. Seriously, I do. I love them. I love to wander through the grounds reading old grave stones. I love imagining the lives lived by the inhabitants. However, by the time we arrived at the graveyard the sun was high in the sky, my stomach was growling and my creativity was shot. I have little in the way of photos to share...but you guessed it, the City Cemetery is now on my list of places to revisit...in better light and hopefully in the same good company.

-k- and I ended our day with a meal at the lunch counter at Whole Foods in Green Hills. What a tasty treat that was. We rehashed the day's activity and made plans for our next outing...a week long workshop in Knoxville in October with two of our other BetterPhoto buddies. I have visions of multiple days of shooting and a plethora of masterpieces pouring forth from our cameras.

The Half Million Dollar Man

Project 15 - Day 61

I would like to introduce you to John M. We met John last week while visiting Callaway Gardens. John is the self proclaimed "Half Million Dollar Man." Why you ask? On February 23rd of this year John fell 35 feet off of a ladder. He estimates that the cost to put this Humpty Dumpty back together again was, you got it, one half million dollars. But there is more to John's story than the cost of repair. His story is about faith and a strong constitution.

After John's plunge to perhaps what should have been his death he was rushed to a local hospital, stabilized and then med-flighted to Atlanta. He underwent 9 plus hours of surgery to repair a punctured lung, and (9 or 10 ) broken and crushed vertebrae in his neck and upper back. He also suffered from a severe concussion but thankfully no serious head trauma. He awoke 3 weeks later to the realization that his life had changed forever.

I don't thing they gave him much chance to live yet alone walk again but John's faith and determination helped him fight through the pain. He told us that on Easter Sunday there was talk of miracles. It was on that day that he got out of his wheelchair and walked across the room unassisted for the first time. He believes that he too is one of God's miracles.

John is a working class man. An electrician. His weathered face tells the story of a hard working individual who hasn't always had an easy life. And yet there is a twinkle in his eye that hints of the lighter side of the man. The side that loves life, his family and his God.

As we stood listening to John tell his story of survival I knew I wanted to take his picture. I began fiddling with my camera, changing settings and visualizing in my head what I wanted to convey. And then I did what I rarely do, and I mean rarely, I asked his permission. Of course he said yes, I knew he would, that's probably why I felt comfortable asking. And then he turned towards me and smiled. I snapped the shutter but it wasn't the shot I was looking for. I wanted him to forget about the camera and me. I didn't want him to pose. Finally he turned back towards "The Kid" and resumed his conversation. Soon he was lost in his story again and it was then that I raised the camera and took the second shot. It is the one I prefer.

I'm thankful we ran into John in front of the chapel at Callaway Gardens. I'm glad that he allowed me to make his picture and that he was compelled to share his story with strangers. I'm awed by the man, his faith and his will to survive.

It was a pleasure meeting you John M., Half Million Dollar Man.

Nashville Family Photo Shoot

Project 15 - Day 60

For the first time in several years I got to spend Mothers' Day with family. Last year it was close but I think I was in SC a week too early. Not so this year. This year I got to spend Mothers' Day with C & J and we even had a little photo shoot after church. None of my family is crazy about photo sessions with me so I jumped when the opportunity was presented.

J was all about the soft aged look and I think it worked well in this series.

Anyone who knows C, knows that things can deteriorate from serious to silly in a matter of seconds.

This day was no exception.

Since I'm not the best at being silly and making people comfortable when I'm taking pictures...too busy concentrating on what I'm doing, it's always good to have someone around to lighten things up.

And then things got a little out of hand. First it was the dog.

And the photographer soon followed.

Dad must have been too much for him. He had to settle for some back to back action.

It was the perfect end to a great week with the kids. J & I had a girls day out on Saturday. The kind that involve nail salons and shopping malls. C and The Kid made several runs to Lowes and Home Depot, the kind that involve ladders and drywall. And the girls (Lady and Henna) made numerous trips around the back yard, the kind that involves chipmunks and squirrels.

Thanks for having us C & J. We had a great time.

Bygone Begonia

Project 15 - Day 59

Hopefully by the time this posts I will be home sleeping in my own bed. I love to travel. But one of the things I enjoy most about traveling is returning home to a good night's sleep.

I have a lot of photos to sort through from the past week: a shooting day with my good friend -k-, a Mothers' Day photo shoot with C & J, and a stop at Callaway Gardens in Georgia. In the meantime enjoy this touch of spring.

Bygone Begonia

I really like the nostalgic feel to this. I processed it in Lightroom with an "aged" filter and then moved it into PhotoShop for a touch of soft focus.

Sad Girl

Project 15 - Day 58

Our little Henna is a sad girl. At least that's the way she appears most of the time. She only looks "happy" when she has a job to do, is going outside for a walk or on the receiving end of a cookie. The rest of the time she looks down right depressed.

Doesn't she look pathetic? So sad, so pitiful, so neglected...NOT.

She is loved. She is spoiled. Seriously, how depressed should a dog be when it lives in paradise and spends its time riding around in the back seat of a Cadillac?

Yes, I'm talking about you pretty girl.

No one feels sorry for you. No one. You live what they call a dog's life. And its a good one so buck up little missy. Ditch the dog face and get on with it.

Otherwise we might trade you in for a cat.

Nashville Clan

Project 15 - Day 57

We are packing up this morning and heading south, back to warm sunshine and palm trees. It has been a great visit with the Nashville side of the family. A lot of things have been accomplished, the basement is dry, the yard has been mowed, closets emptied for a bathroom remodel, and the garden weeded.

There was even time for shopping. No visit with J is complete without a visit to the mall and this one was particularly successful. Translation, I spent a little too much money...but the shoes were just too hard to resist, both pair.

And then there is our grandchild, er, granddog Lady. Henna and Lady have had a grand time chasing chipmunks in the back yard and sharing the coveted spot at the front door. They have become buddies and I'm pretty sure they will miss each others' company.

And we'll miss all of them.

After the Flood

Project 15 - Day 56

If you have been following along for the past few days you know that we have been making our way northward from south Florida to Nashville, TN. Once the rain began last weekend the focus of our trip changed from dock repair to flood clean-up. C & J live in Bellevue, which is a southwestern suburb of Nashville. This particular area was hit very hard as a result of the unprecedented rainfall. Fortunately C & J sustained minor damage, mostly due to C's hard work over the weekend. He vacuumed over 100 gallons of water out of their finished basement during the two day ordeal keeping pace with the rising water. The rest of the time was spent watching the ever expanding river flowing through their back yard.

While it was more than a little overwhelming for them during the first few days, by the time we arrived on Tuesday carpet and padding had been pulled back and several fans were whirring away in an effort to dry things out. On Friday C declared the basement dry. Carpet and furnishings were drug back to their rightful places and everyone breathed a big sigh of relief. They will keep a close watch for mold in the next few weeks but for now all is right in their corner of Bellevue, not so much just 3 short streets away.

I don't have pictures to share of most of the devastation we have witnessed, block after block of once beautiful homes submerged to their rooftops in murky river water. It was a heart breaking sight and oh so close. Young families have lost everything. For most of these people there is no flood insurance. They were told they did not live in a flood plain. Traditional home owners insurance does not cover this type of damage. And while I understand living with the fear of this type of devastation I can't begin to imagine the reality of it.

I don't have pictures because I couldn't do it. There is just something wrong about photographing a stranger's dispair. I do however have a few photos taken from the car window as we made our way west towards Mt. Juliette and our lot on Old Hickory Lake. We weren't certain what we would find once we arrived but we needed a look see.

The first photo is Percy Priest Dam. Under normal conditions the river below the dam is about 20 or 30 feet lower than this and water trickles out in a less forceful fashion keeping water levels on both sides of the dam at near constant levels.

This home was spotted en route to the lake. I have marked the high water line in yellow. This was taken on Wednesday, 3 days after the rain subsided.

We found Old Hickory Lake to be much higher than normal, but not nearly as high as we expected. It seems life on the lake side of the dam was much easier than the down river side.

The fallen retaining wall is located at the house next door to our lot. I think they were fortunate the house didn't follow.

From this vantage point the only clue to what took place here last weekend is the muddy water.

Nashville has faced adversity this week but its residents are resilient and they will survive. For most things have already assumed a certain degree of normalcy, but one thing is certain, no one alive today will ever forget the great flood of 2010.

A Dose of Sunshine

Project 15 - Day 55

I found these blooming in C & J's front yard. The sunny yellow blossoms were a welcome sight following the torrential rains of last weekend.

Country Roads

Project 15 - Day 54

Country roooooads, taaaake me hoooome, to the plaaaaaace I belooooong, Alabama, whoops, wrong state but the sentiment is spot on.

In order to avoid the storm system which had moved into the metro Atlanta area we found ourselves driving north on I65 through Alabama the Beautiful. I couldn't help but feel the tug on my heart strings. After all I spent 15 wonderful years in this great state and there is southern in my blood. It's also in my voice. It lies dormant for months, even years but in the blink of an eye it returns whenever there is a southern encounter of the best kind. Ya'll got that?

As I was sayin, driving north on I65 through Alabama the Beautiful The Kid had barbecue on his mind. There is nothing in the world quite like north Alabama barbecue. NOTHING I tell you. Ya'll haven't lived until you have tasted this smoked delicacy smothered in white sauce, a north Alabama original. I don't think there is anyplace else on the planet that you can get white sauce with your barbecue than a few counties north of Birminham. Our mouths were waterin when we slid off of the interstate into the parking lot at the one, the only, the original, Greenbrier Restaurant. Of course at this point we were a little nervous. What if we ran into somebody we knew? We could be in big trouble. So I'll do it now before this goes any further. To all of my Madison friends (and you too K) I am sorry. Sorry we couldn't make a day of it, sip sweet tea and catch up on things. It just wasn't in the cards this trip. We have chores to tend to in Nashville. Flood victims to rescue. I thank you for understanding. Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

I didn't need a menu. Pork barbecue, slaw, fried okra, hush puppies to die for and sweet tea. Oh momma it gets my mouth to waterin again just a thinkin about it. The only thing missing was the catfish but a girl has her limits. It was a slice of north Alabama heaven and I savored each and every bite.

All too soon our lunch was a memory and we had a little time to kill. The Kid had a conference call and he preferred not to be on the road. That was fine by me, I knew exactly what I wanted to do during that short delay. Just off of I65 at the Madison/Decatur exit sits the community of Mooresville. It is a throwback to a by-gone era and a lovely place for a stroll among oak lined streets. There is new mixed with the old in these few blocks but it is held in check by white picket fences and magnolia blossoms.

As I walked the neighborhood camera in hand I couldn't help but think about the people who lived here in the past. This little community is rooted beside the Tennessee River, it's cotton country, and during the Civil War era cotton was king.

Even today people gather at the local post office to catch-up with neighbors and collect their mail.

Ya'll knew there would be flowers didn't ya?

A short drive north of Mooresville sits another tiny farming community, Belle Mina. My memories of Belle Mina consist mostly of news reports and tornado tracking. They usually went something like this: "Residents in Belle Mina need to take shelter immediately." It also indicated it was time to get nervous as the storm was quickly closing in on us.

All too soon it was time to get back on the interstate and say so long to this special place, but not before I got one parting shot.

I hear her voice, in the mornin' hours she calls me

The radio reminds me of my home far away.

Driving down the road I get a feeling

That I should have been home yesterday,

Yesterday

Tallahassee

Project 15 - Day 53

We had been planning a trip to Nashville for several weeks. There is a certain lot on Old Hickory Lake with a dock that needs repaired. And then the weekend storms hit causing a hick-up in our rarely firm plans. When one travels with The Kid one must always be prepared for sudden changes of direction. On the heels of the storm, our assistance was needed by our children. (For those of you wondering, C & J, Nashville residents, fared better than most in their Belleveu neighborhood taking on water in their basement. Carpet may need to be replaced but otherwise things are in pretty good shape. More on that later.)

The original itinerary included a stop at Callaway Gardens in GA. That stop had to be scrapped due to the weather. Instead we opted to head west across I10 and do some exploring in Tallahassee. Once again weather conditions put a damper on our plans but we did manage to locate the Old Capital Building in downtown. A newer more modern building now houses most of the government goings on but the old one stands as a reminder of simpler times.

It is a beautiful old building surrounded by aging oak trees draped in Spanish Moss. You can't get more old south than that.

Spring flowers were also in bloom, while not quite as bountiful as the ones in SC the previous week they still made for a nice change of pace for this transplanted northerner.

Across the street from the old capital building a large American flag was suspended from granite pillars. It was billowing gracefully in the wind surrounded by more of those stately oaks and Spanish Moss. I used a little of NIKs Glamor Glow filter to add a dreamy quality to the scene. I believe it is my favorite shot on this day.

I don't think there is an abundance of things to see and do in Tallahassee but enough to keep this location on the bucket list for a repeat visit.

Orange Blossom Express

Project 15 - Day 52

I thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful flowering trees and shrubs that were abundant in SC last week. Living in south Florida we don't experience the change of seasons that the rest of the country enjoys. Some don't miss them, but I do. There is comfort in the predictable transformations that take place with each passing season.

Spring in the south is particularly beautiful. However I don't miss the volitile storms that go hand in hand with the beauty. I hope all of my mid-south friends are safe and dry.

Spring Pink

Project 15 - Day 51

Another zoo sighting, pink azaleas.

These beautiful flowering plants are a reminder that spring has arrived.

At the Zoo

Project 15 - Day 50

As I mentioned in a previous post we piqued the kid's interest in our Downtown Greenville photo shoot by promising the kids a visit to the zoo. (A informed us she would think about it and let us know.) If you ever visit Greenville, SC a visit to the zoo is a must. First and foremost it is a kid friendly place. But more importantly you can actually see the animals. I have been to a few small town zoos that while they do a great job, unless the animals are in a certain area it may take you an hour to locate them within their habitat, if at all. Not so at the Greenville zoo. Most of the inhabitants are up close and personal. It may be small, but it is a must see if you are in the area.

Cat Nap

A loves to visit the reptile house. She knows what is in each and every cage (having visited many times in the past 3 years) and she wants to make certain that you see each and every one of those creepy crawlys.

It was feeding time for many of the animals during our visit. The elephants were chowing down on fresh hay and paying no attention to the passers-by.

The Azaleas and other spring flowers were in full bloom and A couldn't resist picking a blossom.

I wish some of these were a little sharper. I am currently having some focusing issues and am not certain if it is camera or photographer related.

I love giraffes. The spots, the long necks, the big brown eyes...what's not to love. Makes me want to head to Toys-R-Us.

The G-man wasted no time hitting the equipment when we stopped at the playground for a break.

This one is my favorite shot of the day. I love the hands and the thoughtful expression on his face.

Happy Monday everyone and for all those in the path of that monster storm making it's way across the country, stay dry and safe.