Photography In Place

Winter sunlight

2012-02-13T07:00:00.000-05:00

Greene County, Virginia

Chickadee

2012-02-10T07:00:00.000-05:00

Poecile carolinensis

"That whimsical fellow called Evolution, having enlarged the dinosaur until he tripped over own toes, tried shrinking the chickadee until he was just too big to be snapped up by flycatchers as an insect, and just too little to be pursued by hawks and owls as meat. Then he regarded his handiwork and laughed. Everyone laughs at so small a bundle of large enthusiasms."

from A Sand County Almanac, by Aldo Leopold

Seaboard Air Line Locomotive 358

2012-02-09T07:00:00.000-05:00

This is another photograph from the group of old prints that I came across in a bin at the Richmond Book Shop in Richmond, Virginia back in December. The photographer is not known.

Seaboard Air Line No 358 was a 2-8-2 Class Q-3 "Mikado" locomotive built in 1924 by Baldwin Locomotive Works. The air pumps mounted over the headlight give No.358 an unusual look. The engine and tender together weighed 490600 pounds. I believe this locomotive was scrapped in 1952.

See other railroad photos from this group here and here.

Yellow shed

2012-02-08T07:00:00.000-05:00

Greene County, Virginia

"There are two spiritual dangers in not owning a farm. One is the danger of supposing that breakfast comes from the grocery, and the other that heat comes from the furnace.

"To avoid the first danger, one should plant a garden, preferably where there is no grocer to confuse the issue.

"To avoid the second, he should lay a split of good oak on the andirons, preferably where there is no furnace, and let it warm his shins while a February blizzard tosses the trees outside. If one has cut, split, hauled, and piled his own good oak, and let his mind work the while, he will remember much about where the heat comes from, and with a wealth of detail denied to those who spend the week in town astride a radiator."

from A Sand County Almanac, by Aldo Leopold

Mockingbird

2012-02-07T07:00:00.000-05:00

Mimus polyglottos - Greene County, Virginia

"Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corn-cribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird." Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird

Foggy morning drive-by

2012-02-06T07:00:00.000-05:00

Louisa County, Virginia

South River Road

2012-02-03T07:00:00.000-05:00

Greene County, Virginia

Yesterday was Candlemas, also known as Groundhog Day, which marks the halfway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. Today we are on the downhill side of winter. The winter here has been mild so far, and temperatures reached the upper sixties yesterday. It seems like spring is here already.

I have been taking advantage of the warm weather to photograph birds even though I know that taking pictures of birds or kittens can get me kicked out of the Secret Guild of Really Serious Photographers. Next week: mockingbirds and chickadees, and maybe a steam locomotive.

Hope you will join us and thanks for reading Photography In Place.

Yellow garage

2012-02-02T07:00:00.000-05:00

Charlottesville, Virginia

"I was the worst hitter ever. I never even broke a bat until last year when I was backing out of the garage" - Lefty Gomez

Pitchers and catchers will report to spring training in less than three weeks.

Parts and Service

2012-02-01T07:00:00.000-05:00

Charlottesville, Virginia - 2012

A couple of weeks ago, I was driving down West Main Street in Charlottesville and noticed that these buildings were being razed so I stopped to take a couple of pictures. I had taken pictures here in 2008. The old garage was interesting and I liked the signs painted on the buildings, so I hate to see them go. Not sure what the Main Street Market Annex is going to look like, but it sounds up-scale, and I will miss the old garage.

Charlottesville, Virginia - 2008

Garage

2012-01-31T07:00:00.000-05:00

Near town of Shenandoah, Virginia

Filling Station

2012-01-30T07:00:00.000-05:00

Creswell, North Carolina

Oh, but it is dirty!
--this little filling station,
oil-soaked, oil-permeated
to a disturbing, over-all
black translucency.
Be careful with that match!

Father wears a dirty,
oil-soaked monkey suit
that cuts him under the arms,
and several quick and saucy
and greasy sons assist him
(it's a family filling station),
and all quite thoroughly dirty.

Do they live in the station?
It has a cement porch
behind the pumps, and on it
a set of crushed and grease-
impregnated wickerwork;
on the wicker sofa
a dirty dog, quite comfy.

Some comic books provide
the only note of color--
of certain color. They lie
upon a big dim doily
draping a taboret
(part of the set), beside
a big hirsute begonia.

Why the extraneous plant?
Why the taboret?
Why, oh why, the doily?
(Embroidered in daisy stitch
with marguerites, I think,
and heavy with gray crochet.)

Somebody embroidered the doily.
Sombody waters the plant,
or oils it, maybe. Sombody
arranges the rows of cans
so that they softly say:
ESSO--so--so--so
to high strung automobiles.
Sombody loves us all.

--Elizabeth Bishop

Filling Station, from Elizabeth Bishop, The Complete Poems 1927-1979. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1983

Winter Walk 5

2012-01-27T07:00:00.000-05:00

Greene County, Virginia

These are the last two pictures from my winter walk last Sunday afternoon. Thanks for reading Photography in Place; hope you have a great weekend and please stop by next week.

Winter Walk 4

2012-01-26T07:00:00.000-05:00

Greene County, Virginia

Winter Walk 3

2012-01-25T07:00:00.000-05:00

Greene County, Virginia

Just before the light faded, I stood on the edge of the water looking at the soft shapes and colors on the opposite bank when a pair of swans swam into view. They made a chattering sound to each other as they dabbled underneath the overhanging bushes.

I stood and watched for a long time, and then turned the camera off and started for home. Later, sitting in front of the fire, I felt most fortunate to have shared a wet and cold winter's afternoon with a pair of swans.

Winter Walk 2

2012-01-24T07:00:00.000-05:00

Greene County, Virginia

Winter Walk

2012-01-23T07:00:00.000-05:00

Greene County, Virginia

Late yesterday afternoon, I took a walk down by the lake. A little snow mixed with cold rain was falling and the branches of the trees were coated with ice. The sky was gray and a winter fog was forming over the water. It was lovely in the soft light and cold winter air. I was still standing on the edge of the water when it became too dark to take more pictures.

First Snow of 2012

2012-01-21T11:01:00.000-05:00

Snow fell here last night, and then changed to freezing rain, leaving a half-inch or so of snow on the ground and ice in the trees. It is our first snow of 2012. I walked out in the yard this morning a took a few snapshots to record the event.

Post Office

2012-01-20T07:00:00.000-05:00

Quinque, Virginia

The Quinque Post Office shares the building with the funeral home, prompting my wife to quip, "You can't take it with you but you can mail it on ahead."

Thanks for reading Photography In Place and have a great weekend.

Stevens Mansion - 1850

2012-01-19T07:00:00.000-05:00

Quinque, Virginia

This house has been vacant for as long as I can remember, but recently there has been some activity around the place. The grounds, which were overgrown a couple of years ago, have been cleaned up and trimmed and it looks like there may be work going on within the house. At one time there was talk of opening a bed and breakfast but I don't know the current plans for the property. This picture was taken on January 8, 2012.

The house was built for the Stephens family around 1850 and for many years the Stephens practically owned Quinque, which had a store, a blacksmith shop, a wheelwright shop, a distillery and mill. The town may have been named Quinque, which is Latin for five, because of the five buildings located there.

Today, Quinque consists of a Post Office, Ryan Funeral Home, the Pic 'n' Pac grocery store and Snow's Feed and Supplies, which occupies the old mill building.

Historical information is from Greene County, Virginia: A Brief History by Donald D. Covey, The History Press, 2007

Snow's Feed and Supplies 2

2012-01-18T07:00:00.000-05:00

Quinque, Virginia

Snow's Feed and Supplies

2012-01-17T07:00:00.000-05:00

Quinque, Virginia

Along Swift Run 2

2012-01-16T07:00:00.000-05:00

Albemarle County, Virginia

Third Sunday - January 2012

2012-01-15T07:00:00.000-05:00

Pembroke, Virginia

Last spring, after visiting Pearisburg, I stopped in Pembroke for a few minutes, hoping to find that the train station was still standing. Pembroke is in Giles County, Virginia just a few miles from Pearisburg. The train station is gone, but I came across this church and was attracted to the somewhat unusual architecture and the large square steeple. As I was taking pictures, I saw a person walking down the street and asked her about the church. She said that there was someone living in the church but she knew nothing of the history of the church, or when services were last held.

There was an old car in front of the building and toys scattered around the yard. The signboard was blank and the church was a bit run-down but appeared quite sound. Unfortunately, further research has failed to turn up anything about the history of the old church. I would like to know more, for it is certainly one of the most interesting white wooden churches that I have come across.

One lane bridge over Swift Run

2012-01-13T07:00:00.000-05:00

Albemarle County, Virginia

In 2010, we published a series of black and white photographs of white wooden churches, one church each Sunday for 31 weeks. The series was called A Month of Sundays.

Church buildings are an interesting study in American architectural history and are among the few surviving 18th and 19th century structures that continue to be used for the purpose for which they were built. This coming Sunday I will begin a new series of church photographs. The new feature will appear on the third Sunday of each month. Hope you will join us, and thanks for reading Photography In Place.

Southern Steam Locomotive 4501

2012-01-12T07:00:00.000-05:00

4501 appears clean and well maintained in this photo.

A couple of weeks before Christmas, I purchased a few small prints of railroad subjects in the Richmond Book Shop. Included was a photo of the famous Richmond Triple Crossing, which I posted here. These pictures of Southern 4501 were also among the prints that I bought. The prints were not dated and I do not have any information as to the photographer's identity.

The 2-8-2 Mikado class 4501 was built for the Southern Railway in 1911 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works. In 1948 Southern sold the locomotive to the Kentucky and Tennessee Railway where it served until it was retired in 1963. It was purchased by a rail-fan who restored the locomotive and made it available for use in Southern Railways steam excursion program. When the excursion program came to an end, the locomotive went to the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum where it is on display.

For the complete story of Southern 4501, and lots of great photos, visit HawkinsRails web page.

4501 pulling what appears to be an excursion train, probably sometime in the 1960s