Just Looking. . .(and Seeing)

 Bottoms Up! Berry College campus, Rome, Georgia, 1981.

If you've followed this blog for a while, you have surely noticed that I keep coming back to a singular theme -- noticing things.

Photography is both an art and a tool. You can do all kinds of things with photography, and as a long-time commercial photographer I've been involved in many of those uses. Yet, with all due respect for its other aspects and uses, the photography that most interests me is just looking: the art of observing and exploring the things I see as I go through life, and documenting them to share with others or simply to revisit for my own enjoyment.

 The very great Elliott Erwitt was an extremely successful commercial photographer, but it's his personal work for which he will be remembered. In that regard, we share the same philosophy:

"Photography is simply a function of noticing things."

“It's just seeing - at least the photography I care about. You either see or you don't see. The rest is academic. Anyone can learn how to develop.”

In this sense, the observant photographer is like a little boy who finds something interesting and wants to tell everyone about it. He runs to his friends shouting "Hey, look what I found!" 

Others may have different ideas, of course, but to me, that's the art at the heart of photography.

Hey! Look what I found!

 

Cockeyed Spider.

 

(The photograph of the two bottoms-up swans was made in 1981 with an Olympus OM film camera and Kodak Ektachrome film. I don't have a date or location for the hay spider, but it was photographed on film.) 

Signed copies of the second edition of Backroads and Byways of Georgia are now available. The price is $22.95 plus $3.95 shipping. My PayPal address is djphoto@vol.com. Or, you can mail a check to me at 8943 Wesley Place, Knoxville, TN 37922. Include your address and tell me how you would like your book inscribed.

Check out the pictures at my online gallery: https://davejenkins.pixels.com/  Looking is free, and you might find something you like.

Photography and text copyright 2023 David B.Jenkins.

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

Soli Gloria Deo -- For the glory of God alone.

Tags: Travel    photography    Elliott Erwitt    cameras    Olympus OM    Kodak    Ektachrome

The William Horton House, Jekyll Island

The ruins of the 1740 William Horton House, Jekyll Island, Georgia.

 

 James Oglethorpe, who founded Savannah in 1733, also built Fort Frederica on St. Simon's Island in 1736. Major William Horton, who was second in command of Oglethorpe's regiment, settled on Jekyll Island in 1738 and began to build roads and clear land for planting, as well as building for himself a two-story plantation house of tabby, a durable mixture of oyster shells, lime, sand, and water, which was a basic building material of early Georgia coastal settlers. 

Completed in 1740, it is one of the oldest buildings in Georgia. The house was gutted by fire in the Spanish invasion of 1742, but was rebuilt. After 1886, when the island was sold to the Jekyll Island Club, the house unfortunately was allowed to deteriorate, until now only the sturdy tabby walls remain. The site is open daily, and there is no admission charge other than the entrance toll to the island.

In addition to other crops, Horton grew hops and barley on his plantation and operated Georgia's first brewery.

 

If you visit Jekyll Island, you might also like to check out the rest of the Historic District, where the clubhouse built by the millionaires of the Jekyll Island Club is now a surprisingly affordable historic hotel, and where many of their "cottages" have been restored and are open to the public. No longer just for rich people these days, Jekyll Island also has ten miles of beaches, four golf courses, a water park, and the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, plus hotels, cottages, and campgrounds.

 

(I photographed the Horton House on November 20th, 2016 with an Olympus OMD E-M5 digital camera and a Panasonic 12-32mm f3.5-5.6 lens.)

Signed copies of the second edition of Backroads and Byways of Georgia are now available. The price is $22.95 plus $3.95 shipping. My PayPal address is djphoto@vol.com. Or, you can mail a check to me at 8943 Wesley Place, Knoxville, TN 37922. Include your address and tell me how you would like your book inscribed.

Check out the pictures at my online gallery: https://davejenkins.pixels.com/  Looking is free, and you might find something you like.

Photography and text copyright 2023 David B.Jenkins.

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

Soli Gloria Deo -- For the glory of God alone.

Tags: Travel    photography    Olympus camera    OMD E-M5    Panasonic Lumix lens    Georgia    Jekyll Island    Horton House

The Crescent Hill Baptist Church

The Crescent Hill Baptist Church near Helen, Georgia.

 

I first discovered this gem of a country church on my rambles through the North Georgia mountains in 2006. Located on Georgia Highway 17 about halfway between the Old Sautee Store and the town of Helen, the Crescent Hill Baptist Church sits on a small hill on the right side of the highway. 

Built in 1872, it was originally known as the Nacoochee Presbyterian Church, but was acquired by a Baptist congregation in 1921. The church currently has about 150 members, and services are held each Sunday at 11 a.m. The pulpit, pews, and stained glass are all original, and the property is lovingly maintained. This is one of the prettiest country churches I've found in my travels.

                                    The interior of the Crescent Hill Baptist Church.

I have to say that I really miss my ramblings around the Georgia countryside. I know there are plenty of interesting things to see in East Tennessee, but so far we've been preoccupied with getting settled in our new home in Knoxville, trying to sell our RV and truck, etc. I hope that soon I'll be able to get out and about with my camera and make some new pictures to post.

(The exterior photograph was made with a Canon EOS 5D Classic camera and the Canon USM 24-85mm f3.5-4.5 lens. The interior photo was made on October 29, 2016 with an Olympus OMD-E-M5 and a Panasonic Lumix 12-32mm f3.5-5.6 lens.)

Signed copies of the second edition of Backroads and Byways of Georgia are now available. The price is $22.95 plus $3.95 shipping. My PayPal address is djphoto@vol.com. Or, you can mail a check to me at 8943 Wesley Place, Knoxville, TN 37922. Include your address and tell me how you would like your book inscribed.

Check out the pictures at my online gallery: https://davejenkins.pixels.com/  Looking is free, and you might find something you like.

Photography and text copyright 2023 David B.Jenkins.

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

Soli Gloria Deo -- For the glory of God alone.

Tags: Travel    photography    Canon EOS 5D camera    Canon USM lens   Panasonic Lumix lens    Helen, Georgia    Presbyterian Church    Baptist Church    old churches   country churches    Old Sautee Store    North Georgia

 

St. Mary's Presbyterian Church

First Presbyterian Church, St. Mary's, Georgia

I've seen many lovely old churches in my travels around Georgia, but one of the oldest and most beautiful is the Presbyterian church in St. Mary's, in the southeasternmost corner of the state.

 A picture-perfect piece of architecture dating from 1808, it is one of the oldest Presbyterian church buildings in Georgia. The church was non-denominational until a young Presbyterian missionary named Horace Pratt came from New Jersey to St. Mary's in 1821. Through his influence, the church was incorporated as the First Presbyterian Church of St. Mary's in 1828 and remains in active service to this day.

The interior of St. Mary's Presbyterian Church.

Although established as a town by the British in 1787, St. Mary's was originally settled by the Spanish in 1566, just a year after the founding of St. Augustine, Florida, making it the second-oldest continuously occupied town in the United States. A charming little city, St. Mary's is well-known as the gateway to the Cumberland Island National Seashore.

(Both photos Canon EOS 6D.)

Signed copies of the second edition of Backroads and Byways of Georgia are now available. The price is $22.95 plus $3.95 shipping. My PayPal address is djphoto@vol.com. Or, you can mail a check to me at 8943 Wesley Place, Knoxville, TN 37922. Include your address and tell me how you would like your book inscribed.

Check out the pictures at my online gallery: https://davejenkins.pixels.com/  Looking is free, and you might find something you like.

Photography and text copyright 2023 David B.Jenkins.

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

Soli Gloria Deo -- For the glory of God alone.

Tags: Travel    photography    Canon EOS    Canon    6D    cameras    St. Mary's    Georgia    Presbyterian    churches    old churches    St. Augustine    Florida    Cumberland Island