Finally! A Roof over Our Heads!

At home (for now) in Nebo, North Carolina

 In 2006 I responded to a notice in a church bulletin and volunteered to become a Core Group leader with a college ministry called the House Ministry. Over the next eleven years I met for two hours each week during the school year with a small group of three to six young men, most of whom were students at the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga.  Our meetings consisted of some Bible study, some prayer, and a lot of time talking about the issues of their lives. Mentoring these men was one of the highlights of my life.

One of the men who was in my group for the first two years was Andrew, who graduated and went on to medical school where he met Leah. I had the honor of officiating at their wedding in 2010. They completed their studies and went on to practice in the Marion-Morganton area of North Carolina. As time passed they acquired a lovely home on a beautiful piece of property in a country neighborhood called Nebo, and eventually, were joined by two little daughters.

Andrew and Leah have stayed in touch over the years, and recently Andrew set up two RV sites on his property, both with full hook-ups and one with a shed roof. They invited us to come visit them, and so we have been enjoying their company and the lovely facilities for the past two weeks. And finally, we have a roof over our heads!

Since we sold our home in January, 2021 we have been semi-nomads. However, this experience has caused us to reconsider an idea we had thought about early on: we may look for an acre or so somewhere near Knoxville where we can put up a shed similar to Andrew's, so that when we're not on the road we can park our trailer in it and live for cheap as long as we like. We love living in our RV, and when we are no longer able to travel will live in it as long as we are able.

Photograph made with a Fuji X-T20 digital camera and Fujicron XC16-50mm f3.5-5.6 lens.

Photograph and text copyright 2022, David B.Jenkins.

I post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday unless life gets in the way.

Soli Gloria Deo -- For the glory of God alone

My book, Backroads and Byways of Georgia, is now out of print, although copies are apparently still available from Amazon, and possibly other sources. The second edition is now in the editing stage and is scheduled to be released on December 6th.

Dragons in the Backyard and Other Private Property Issues

How many people keep dragons in their backyard?

I was not in the yard, by the way -- I was across the road and

shot with the 70-200mm f4L lens at the 200mm setting on my

Canon 5D Classic digital camera. Clarksville, Georgia

 

Dave Hileman's second question was "Where do you take the photo? If it is private property, as most are, do you take a few steps to try and get a good composition or stay at the edge of the road. Or, walk up to the house, for example, chat with the folks and ask permission to shoot. I am sure it varies but what is the best way in general to accomplish your goal, a fine photo and Louise’s goal that you not get shot or arrested? (If you missed Dave's first question, check out Monday's post.)

When making photos of someone's property, I usually follow the Grace principle: it's easier to get forgiveness than permission! Having said that, though, I always seek to avoid being intrusive. So I if actually see someone I will ask. If I can get the photo I want without going on the property, then fine. If I need to get a few steps closer, I do so, or maybe use a longer lens, as I did in the photo above. If I have to get even closer, I ask myself if the photo is worth a confrontation. If someone asks me what I'm doing, I give them my card and explain that I write magazine articles and books. I compliment them on their interesting/beautiful/historic property and get them talking about it. So far, that approach has worked. I've been to 34 or 35 countries and around much of the US and haven't had any difficulty so far. However, as one photojournalist put it, "Never carry more equipment than you can run with!"

If I had tried to get permission to make many of the photographs for Rock City Barns: A Passing Era, the book would not exist. I would still be at county courthouses trying to track down owners. Rock City had information about some of them, but most of their records were years out of date. 

Many of the barns were isolated, with no houses nearby and no way to find information. If there was a house nearby I knocked on the door and if someone was home I introduced myself and explained what I was doing. Met some interesting people that way, and everyone was cooperative and helpful. If no one was around I just made my photographs and left. As the Sierra Club motto has it, "Take only photographs. Leave only footprints."

Photograph and text copyright 2022, David B.Jenkins.

I post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday unless life gets in the way.

Soli Gloria Deo -- For the glory of God alone

My book, Backroads and Byways of Georgia, is now out of print, although copies are apparently still available from Amazon, and possibly other sources. The second edition is now in the editing stage and is scheduled to be released on December 6th.

Jenkins Rule

Spotted this scene while driving along Georgia Highway 22 in east central Georgia. The first place I could turn around was about 200 yards down the road. If I had been pulling an RV this photo would not exist.

 

Dave Hileman, a fellow RV traveler, photo-blogger, fellow believer in Jesus Christ, and good friend even though we've never met in person, had two questions for me. I'll answer the first one in this post and the second question in the next.

"You drive the back roads and spot something you wish to make a photo of and then, where do you park? It is often a challenge and when pulling our trailer more often not possible.

Jenkins Rule says that "The photogenic qualities of any given scene are in direct inverse proportion to the possibility of finding a place to park within any reasonable distance." When traveling in an RV, the difficulties are greatly multiplied. Dave pulls a smallish travel trailer with an SUV, so finding a place to park may not be totally impossible, but as he says, "it is a challenge."

With my truck and fifth-wheel trailer totaling nearly 55 feet in length, it's not just a challenge, it's pretty much an impossibility. I've had to adopt John Netherton's principle: A prolific landscape photographer and author/photographer of a number of books who didn't care much for walking, Netherton said "There are no photographs more than a hundred yards from a parking lot."

Or, like the famous photographer Gary Winogrand, who, when asked what he did if he saw a photograph while changing film, replied "There are no photographs while I'm changing film!"

By the time something something registers in my brain "That would make a good photograph," I'm usually past it. Is there a place to pull off the road? Not likely. Is there a place to turn around? Almost certainly not if I'm in an RV. If I could turn around, would there be a place to park? Again, highly improbable. So, in the spirit of Netherton and Winogrand, I have to accept that "There are no photographs while I'm driving my RV!"

And that's just the way it is.

Dave Hileman blogs at www.twolanetouring.com, where he posts a new picture every day. Check it out. He's well worth following.

Photograph and text copyright 2022, David B.Jenkins.

I post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday unless life gets in the way.

Soli Gloria Deo -- For the glory of God alone

My book, Backroads and Byways of Georgia, is now out of print, although copies are apparently still available from Amazon, and possibly other sources. The second edition is now in the editing stage and is scheduled to be released on December 6th.

Silent Witness

Sumter Merchandise, U.S. Highway 19, Sumter County, Georgia

 

 Just an old, long-abandoned store, one of thousands still standing in varying states of disrepair along Georgia's backroads. Why do I care? I'm not sure I could answer that, even after photographing old and abandoned structures for 50 years. Yet, there's a kind of dignity about old buildings that appeals to me. They bear silent witness of stories that will never be told, of lives lived and long gone; obscure in life and in death.

 

The photo is from my limited-edition book Georgia: A Backroads Portrait. It was made on June 9, 2010, using a Canon 5D Classic camera with a Canon EF 24-85mm f3.5-4.5 lens.

Photograph and text copyright 2022, David B.Jenkins.

I post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday unless life gets in the way.

Soli Gloria Deo -- For the glory of God alone

My book, Backroads and Byways of Georgia, is now out of print, although copies are apparently still available from Amazon, and possibly other sources. The second edition is now in the editing stage and is scheduled to be released on December 6th.