You know, I don’t go back to my hometown area often. As a matter of fact, when I set foot in downtown Rome back in July, it had been years since the last time I had been there.
I don’t know what it is. Maybe it’s the time I’ve spent away from the places I grew up. Maybe it’s the amount of distance I’ve been borderline desperate to put so far in the back of my mind that I never had to think about it. They say time heals all wounds.
I think I still disagree.
But regardless, spending a few hours occassionally when I can photograph amazing views like the ones I can find looking out over the city.
After climbing, perhaps naively, to the top of City Cemetery… I was exhausted. For those who don’t know, City Cemetery in Rome, GA is a cemetery on a hillside. But when I say hill side… what I mean is it’s literally terraced into the closest thing you’ve ever seen to a cliff that isn’t truly a cliff.
So obviously I took my camera and my drone up there and went nuts.
It’s been a long 2 years dealing with the pandemic and really waking up to a lot of realities and widening perspectives of the world. With that in mind, I want to try to do more.
In 2022, I want to do more with my photos. I have made videos and offered prints for a while now. And I love that.
But I want to continue to evolve how I am able to express my creativity! So I decided to do that with my current newest collection. So here begins the newest chapter. I can’t promise consistency of release. But I can promise I will always be back eventually. I love you all. Please check out the store!
This week, I had a little bit of spare time before meeting a client for a photoshoot in Atlanta. We were shooting near the Martin Luther King Jr. National Park. So naturally with time and being around one of my favorite places in all of Atlanta, I had to run around and get some shots. This time, as I’ve been doing a lot recently, I decided that one lens would be fun. So I took the Rokinon 12mm f/2.8, my old reliable, out for a spin.
I love using this lens mostly because of the ridiculous amount of stuff I can fit in the image. I love capturing these huge compositions. I like how vast it makes reality feel to me. Tell me what you think!
This week is part 2 of a series I shot in April about shooting Atlanta with a 35mm lens. I love this city, and this part of the series has some of my favorite pictures of the day!
Last week, we left off at the Mercedez-Benz Stadium, looking for access to a MARTA station. Unfortunately, there wasn’t one open in the parking decks that I was exploring. There was a closed one, though! So, I made my way back to the MARTA stop I had gotten off of originally. Along the way, because I take a different route obviously, there are amazing panoramic views of the Stadium and of course, I cannot resist!
After snapping this picture, I finally made it back to the MARTA station.
At the next stop, I find an amazing, skyline shot of the city. So of course, I stopped to shoot another panorama!
After exiting the station, I made a wrong turn to try to make my way to Oakland Cemetery. I ended up going the long way around… But I followed the tracks and got these shots!
Atlanta has a lot of these small street overpasses. The most famous of these is the Krog street bridge. This one is actually on Boulevard. Finding the best locations for shooting is all about exploring away from where the crowds go. So naturally, this bridge just a few streets away from the famed Krog Street tunnel gave me much more ease of access for shooting!
This week, I decided to do some train hopping! Well… sort of. I rode the Blue line of the MARTA Train in Atlanta, hopping on and off at various stops along the way to take pictures!
This week, like last week, I wanted to challenge myself. So again, I set out with one lens, but this week? I used a 35mm f/1.8 This lens is an awesome lens that acts on my crop-sensor camera like you would expect a 50mm to act on a full-frame camera.
Along the way this week, I may have dropped a lesson or two. Thanks for watching. I can’t wait to share my pictures with you again next week!
Another video finally. Let’s get back on track, shall we? This week, I’m sharing a collection of photos I captured while exploring what’s left of Atlanta’s history as a major train depot! Check out the video for a narration of my exploration. I got a few around the downtown area after that!
It’s New Year’s Eve. So today I thought we would wrap up this year with a video highlighting some of the dope shots and what I’ve had to do to get them over the last year. I hope that you enjoy this week’s video.
Last week, I told you all about the history of Morris Brown College. Make sure you check that out here if you haven’t already. This week I wanted to feature the coolest views specifically of when I was climbing around Alonzo Herndon Stadium. So I thought I would tell you a little about it and the man after which it’s named!
The stadium itself is was built in 1948. It was used by the Morris Brown College Wolverines, The Atlanta Beat (women’s soccer team), and the 1996 Olympics! It was also played the part of the demolished Fairfield Stadium during the filming of We Are Marshall, released 2006. Once a pride of Morris Brown College, it now sits abandoned, trashed, and graffitied.
The man for which the stadium was named had a little more triumphant story. Alonzo Herndon was born a slave in 1858. He was the son of a white slaver and Sophenie, an enslaved woman. He and his family were emancipated after the Civil War. They were cast out by their former enslavers and left homeless with nothing.
The Herndon family became sharecroppers, as many emancipated people were forced to do, and tried to live a better life. Alonzo’s entrepreneurial spirit showed as he worked his hands to the bone to provide for his family and save to leave his small hometown for a better life.
In 1878, he did just that. He moved from Social Circle to Senoia where he worked on farms and learned the trade of barbering. From Senoia, he migrated to Jonesboro, and this is where he started his first shop.
After a few years of thriving business, he eventually settled in Atlanta in early 1883. He began working as a barber in a shop on Marietta Street. 6 months later, he was a partner of the shop. By 1904, he owned 3 shops in Atlanta. His all-Black staff were widely known as the best barbers in the South. He also owned many houses, a large block of commercial property on Auburn Ave, and real estate in Florida as well.
As he grew his fortune, he bought a failing mutual aid association and turned the business around. He helped the company achieve legal reserve status, joined only by 4 other Black insurance companies contemporarily, and then expanded to 6 new states. He made it a point to save Black businesses where possible. He would merge businesses into Atlanta Life to conserve confidence in Black businesses.
He grew his fortune and his influence. He was even among the 29 men who attended the founding meeting of Black leaders to organize the Niagara Movement, called by W. E. B. Du Bois. He was also very involved in his local community in Atlanta, and he donated support and resources to the YMCA, Atlanta University, orphanages, and the First Congregational Church.
Alonzo Herndon died on July 21, 1927. He was born into slavery. He was thrown into poverty. He was illiterate. He was Black in the South, and he created an empire of wealth and a business that still runs to this day. He was even one of this country’s first Black millionaires. Now that’s a wild life!
As always, all of these photos of Alonzo Herndon Stadium are available for prints and merchandise. Check it all out in the store.
But first! These pictures are the pictures I took (featured in the exploration in the video above!) All of these are available for PRINTS! Shop sizes in the Store!
Now for some history!
Morris Brown College was founded in 1881 and was the first HBCU “founded by black people for black people”. By 1908, enrollment was over 1,000. It became a charter in 1912, faced bankruptcy in 1928, and turns it all around by 1932.
In 1940,1941, and 1951, Morris Brown College won the Black College Football National Championship. They were an athletic powerhouse during that time.
By 1999, they would be torn apart by scandal that included inflated enrollment numbers and millions in student aid funds misappropriated. The only thing that would keep the college afloat was the new $21 million 1996 Olympic stadium and a conversion to Division I Athletics.
In 2002, the Morris Brown Marching Wolverines were introduced to little Samuel one of my favorite films from childhood, “Drumline”! I loved this movie. It was one of the reasons I decided to be in the marching band. It really started my interest in percussion instruments in general. Little did I know that I would be exploring the abandoned stadium for pictures 18 years later.
In 2003, their accreditations were revoked because of the growing debt the college was creating. 2004 brings charges of fraud for administrators of the college. In 2006, OutKast released a song titled after the now infamous college “Morris Brown,” which featured the marching band.
2012 brings a conclusion to the millions of debt collected by the college through bankruptcy. In 2015, a fire destroys Gaines Hall, and it is recommended that the building be torn down. It hasn’t yet.
It did become an accredited institution again in 2019 and I believe now has students enrolled. But the buildings I walked by were definitely abandoned. The college has a very long history, especially for a set of buildings in Atlanta.
This week, I share a collection of street photography taken in Atlanta in August of 2020.
I try to make it down to the city at least once a month for a day of shooting. I love the buildings, graffiti, streets, and views that the city has to offer. The month of August was amazing.
COVID-19 did bring the entire world to a halt, but in August the city of Atlanta is still pretty busy. The streets are less crowded, which makes it easier for me to take pictures without pedestrians in my shots, but it also makes the city feel a little empty.
But that feeling doesn’t last for long. It felt like the more we walked and rode around, the more city seemed to come to life!
Maybe it was the wild amount of caffiene in my oversized coffee, but this trip, Brianna and I covered a ton of ground.
The goal for this trip was some cool shots of the capital and the church that’s close to Underground and The Masquerade. That of course did not happen, but we went just about everywhere else in the area!
To finish out the journey today, we rode by one of my favorite spots, the Jackson Street Bridge. I know, it’s a stereotype for instagrammers and tourists, but it’s a very beautiful view of the city. Rest assured though, I am on the lookout for the perfect view of Atlanta.
Allora Studios 