Grave art in rural south GA

There's a lot of different cameras in play here: an Argus Matchmatic 135, a Soligor 45, and the Pentax 645.  I am a huge fan of weird grave art and this past weekend, we found the mecca of all things grave related in Cairo, GA!  It was a bit overwhelming, even by my standards.  Here's a few of the more successful ones.

And, here's some of the more unsuccessful ones.  Just in case you thought I might be overstepping with my description. :)

This is an old graveyard behind a working mill in Whigham, GA.  The blurrier pic is from my Soli - it shows the Slow: Children Playing sign.  But the sign is behind the mill...and in between the graveyard and the train tracks.  I feel badly for these children.

And there were tons of dixie flags (some new, some tattered and faded) in these old, dilapidated, and very remote graveyards.  I recognize that the confederate flag is a part of the south's history - it's a part I'm not sure should be celebrated, but like any flag, I find it interesting as a visual symbol.  Here's the best of the dixie flag pics.

Whigham and whatnot

Wound up in a sleepy little town called Whigham, GA last weekend.  It was a true small town, where people waved from their porches and everyone was eager to tell us of the town's healing springs long ago used as a baptismal well.  The PO-lice station had one cop with one car, and he was windexing the front door as we walked by.  I love rural America.  All shot with a Pentax 645.

 On the way, we swung by Southside Tallahassee: shot with a Pentax 645.

  

As promised, here's more Big Sperms!  I love spotting familiar taggers all over town!

My dad's old Soligor 45 (a 35mm camera that requires me to drill out the bottom of the 35mm canister to fit the pre-auto-rewind build) is semi-magical when it comes to animals.  Almost all of the animal shots I've taken have been with this camera.  So, whenever I'm in the mood to make some furry friends, I've only to load up the Soli and wait for them to appear.  :)

Home sweet home

Due to an overload of incomprehensible statistics homework and a lot of thunder storms this month, I've been hanging closer to home.  So, I'm pleased to introduce you to my fair and beautiful Tallahassee. Ain't she a peach.  :)  These were shot with a Pentax 645 and a Yashica MAT 124 G, both on 120 film.

And here's the local taggers I've been following.  I call them Big Sperm, Revolution Daisy, and Paper Monster Man.  I think I've posted some big sperms and revolution daisies from earlier jaunts.  If not, stay tuned!  :)

Wanderings in 120 film

More fun with the Pentax 645 and the Yashica MAT 120G twin lens reflex camera in rural Georgia and north Florida!

Port St. Joe, Bristol, and Wewa:

A memorial for Kandida Houston: "Daddy's little girl" behind a dumspter in a gas station parking lot:

Grave art in way rural north Florida and motel signs in Valdosta, Georgia:

Sandra, Zeke, and baby Charlotte!

Sandra, Zeke, and I went down to the gardens to get some maternity shots of baby Charlotte.  Her arrival is only five weeks away!  I love that these shots have a really filmy, vintage feel - even though I took them with the Nikon D7000.  Zeke's tie-dye was clearly inspirational!  And he was such a trooper for us, saying cheese over and over in the 90 degree morning heat!  Congrats to all!  Can't wait to hold baby Charlotte in my arms!

One Million Bones National Day of Action

One Million Bones is an anti-genocide campaign that raises money and awareness through bone making. Schools, senior centers, boy scout troops, college students, and many others have participated all over Tallahassee. The project is partnered with Students Rebuild and CARE. For every bone made, $1 is donated. Jane McPherson is the Tallahassee organizer and when she started last summer, she pledged to have 3000 bones by the April day of action. She wound up with over 6500.

I met with Jane and about 60 others in Bloxham Park in downtown Tallahassee last weekend to help lay the bones down.  Some of the bones are artistic or anatomically correct, most are not.  In the end, they stretched over 100 feet. It was a beautiful, tragic, and visually arresting statement on genocide.

You can learn more about One Million Bones in Tallahassee here: http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20120427/TLHLOCAL/204270321/Laying-out-bones-People-come-grips-genocide?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7Cfrontpage

and here... https://www.facebook.com/pages/One-Million-BonesTallahassee/121111971329838

And about Students Rebuild here: https://www.facebook.com/StudentsRebuild

Students rebuild also blogged about the event and used a few of my photos!  Fun!  http://studentsrebuild.org/tallahassee-taking-skeletons-out-of-closet

All images shot with Pentax 645, 120 film format.

Pentax 645, where have you been all my life?

Here's a sampler of pics I've been taking with a gorgeous (and mammoth) Pentax 645 that I bought from an elderly gentleman.  I love the precision of the glass and the quirkiness of 120 film.  This camera was a pro-quality wedding photographer camera in its day, and I feel for photographers of the time!  This camera is HEAVY.  But the images make it all worth while.