More about Noticing Things

Green Doors. Marion County, Georgia.

 I've written nearly 800 posts since 2019 on this blog, and one of my most frequently recurring themes has been "noticing things." That's because I think the most important thing we do as photographers is noticing the things around us and showing them to others. As the late, great photographer Tony King said," My life has been dominated by one thing: a need to show people what I'm excited about. When I was a little boy, I was always dragging people off to show them the things that made the world wonderful to me."

That's what I've been seeking to do since I first became seriously interested in photography 57 years ago. I want to see and share the things that make life and the world interesting to me. That's my primary motivation. But since I also found the tools and processes of photography fascinating, I decided to make a career of it. That's not for everyone, of course, but everyone can open his or her eyes to the world around us and make pictures that will be enjoyable and valuable to the photographer and to others.

Our photographs do not need to be earthshaking examples of photographic art. They are not likely to be published in magazines or hung in galleries. They only need to be of things that caught our interest or attention, for whatever reason. If we like our pictures, that's sufficient. If others like them too, so much the better.

The green doors were on an abandoned store building just east of Buena Vista, in Marion County, Georgia. I made it while traveling the circumference of the state making pictures for my limited edition book Georgia: A Backroads Portrait. The camera was a Canon EOS 5D and the lens was the always-handy Canon EF 24-85mm f3.5-4.5.

Nothing spectacular. Just something I noticed.

If you like my pictures, visit my online gallery at https://davejenkins.pixels.com/  

Signed copies of my book Backroads and Byways of Georgia are available. The price is $22.95 plus $4.95 shipping. My PayPal address is djphoto@vol.com (which is also my email). Or you can mail a check to 8943 Wesley Place, Knoxville, TN 37922. Include your address and tell me how you would like your book inscribed.

Photography and text copyright 2025 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:   photography    travel photography     Canon EOS 5D camera     Canon EF 24-85mm lens      digital photography     "Magic Drainpipe"    Buena Vista, Georgia    Marion County, Georgia     B.A. "Tony" King     abandoned buildings

Commuting with Open Eyes (and Ready Camera)

 Tractor in Barn.

For most of the 33 years Louise and I lived on our little farm in Northwest Georgia's McLemore Cove, one or both of us worked in Chattanooga. It was 25 miles to my downtown studio, and about 30 miles for Louise when she worked at the mental health facility. Most people would consider that a long commute, but I always enjoyed it. Louise, maybe not quite as much, but she loved living where we lived.

I made the trip six days a week, most weeks, for thirteen years. After closing my studio in 2000, I still had clients in Chattanooga, so I made the trip frequently, but not everyday.

It was enjoyable for me because there were interesting things to see and photograph in all seasons of the year. As I drove north, Lookout Mountain was on my left. As I drove south toward home, I could watch the sun set in the west over the mountain. I made many of my favorite photos on this commute.

These three photographs were made along Georgia Highway 193 in Walker County. The barn with a tractor peeking out (probably a classic Ford 8N) was in the little community of High Point, about halfway to Chattanooga. The Demented (Crazy) Spider was in that stretch of highway also. Clearing Storm over Lookout Mountain was made just south of Flintstone. It is one of my top five all-time favorite photos:

Crazy Spider,

Clearing storm over Lookout Mountain.

All these photographs were made on Fujichrome 100 film. For the Tractor in Barn and Clearing Storm I used a Canon EOS A2, as best I remember. I do remember that I used the great Canon EF 80-200 f2.8L lens (often called "the Magic Drainpipe") for Clearing Storm. My best guess is that I photographed the Crazy Spider with an Olympus OM2n, but I don't remember the lens. 

Visit my online gallery at https://davejenkins.pixels.com/  

Signed copies of my book Backroads and Byways of Georgia are available. The price is $22.95 plus $4.95 shipping. My PayPal address is djphoto@vol.com (which is also my email). Or you can mail a check to 8943 Wesley Place, Knoxville, TN 37922. Include your address and tell me how you would like your book inscribed.

Photography and text copyright 2025 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:   photography    travel photography     barns     Canon EOS A2 camera     Canon 80-2000 f2.8L lens      Fujichrome 100D film    film photography     "Magic Drainpipe"    north Georgia     Walker County, Georgia     Olympus OM2n camera     Ford 8N tractor

Revisiting Bryce Canyon

 

Formations in Bryce Canyon National Park, as seen from Sunset Point.

A repost from our memorable trip west in 2018.

Just seven years ago, in September, 2018, we hooked our old Chevy pickup to our little travel trailer and headed west, traveling more than 7,000 miles and visiting many sites during our month on the road. One of our must-see sites was Bryce Canyon National Park. 

Nothing much can be said that hasn’t already been said countless times about the remarkable rock formations in the park; likewise countless photographs have been made that are more or less identical. Mine are by no means exceptional, but I enjoyed making them anyway. 

The rock formations, by the way, are called hoodoos, like those in the Valley of the Goblins. (See them here.) They have been created by erosion over many years.  Ice freezing and expanding in the cracks of the rocks is largely responsible for their distinctive shapes. 

We were fortunate to arrive when we did, as the morning sun provided a three-quarters backlight that brought out the shapes of the hoodoos in sharp relief.

 

As I said, these photos are by no means exceptional, but I enjoyed making them. They are all from out-of-the-camera jpegs, made with Fuji X-T1 and X-T20 cameras, Fujinon XC 16-50mm f3.5-5.6 and XC 50-230mm f4.8-6.3 lenses. 

Visit my online gallery at https://davejenkins.pixels.com/  

Signed copies of my book Backroads and Byways of Georgia are available. The price is $22.95 plus $4.95 shipping. My PayPal address is djphoto@vol.com (which is also my email). Or you can mail a check to 8943 Wesley Place, Knoxville, TN 37922. Include your address and tell me how you would like your book inscribed.

Photography and text copyright 2025 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:   photography     travel photography    digital photography     X-T1 camera     Fujinon XC 16-50mm lens       Fuji X-T20 camera     Fujinon XC 50-230mm lens    Bryce Canyon National Park     camping trailers     hoodoos

The Backroads Traveler: Two Marion County, Georgia Courthouses

The Old Marion County Courthouse.

In 2016, as I was traveling and researching for my book Backroads and Byways of Georgia, I photographed courthouses wherever I found them. Two of them were in south central Georgia's Marion County.

In the tiny, crossroads village of Tazewell, I photographed the vernacular, wood-framed Marion County Courthouse erected there in 1848 to replace one that had burned in 1845. It's known as the "old" courthouse to distinguish it from the one built in Buena Vista just two years later. It is one of only two antebellum wooden courthouses remaining in Georgia, according to Wikipedia. 

Just one court session was held there before the voters decided to move the county seat to Buena Vista. For many years since, the building has housed a Masonic Lodge. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and is the only surviving courthouse in a town that is not the current county seat.

The "new"Marion County Courthouse in Buena Vista.

The  present Marion County Courthouse was built in 1850 of locally-made brick. The architectural style has been described as vernacular, with Neoclassical alterations, which consist mostly of the columns which were added to the front in 1928. The building, which sits in the town square at Buena Vista, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Even at its age it is a very attractive building.

Flag and eagle. Marion County Courthouse, Buena Vista.

The top two photos were made in 2016 for my book Backroads and Byways of Georgia. The above picture of the flag and courthouse arch in Buena Vista was made in 2010 as I traveled around the state to make pictures for my limited edition book Georgia: A Backroads Portrait. 

Text adapted from my book Backroads and Byways of Georgia.

About the photographs: the top two photos were made on September 28, 2016. The camera for both was the Canon EOS 6D with the Canon EF 28-105mm lens. The bottom photo was made on May 10, 2010, using a Canon 5D "Classic" and a Canon EOS 70-200mm f4L lens.

Visit my online gallery at https://davejenkins.pixels.com/  

Signed copies of my book Backroads and Byways of Georgia are available. The price is $22.95 plus $4.95 shipping. My PayPal address is djphoto@vol.com (which is also my email). Or you can mail a check to 8943 Wesley Place, Knoxville, TN 37922. Include your address and tell me how you would like your book inscribed.

Photography and text copyright 2025 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:   photography     travel photography    digital photography     Canon EOS 6D camera     Canon EF 28-105mm lens       Canon EOS 5D "Classic" camera     Canon EF 70-200mmL lens    Marion County, Georgia     Georgia courthouses     Buena Vista, Georgia