I had the great fortune to spend a weekend with my family in the Smoky Mountains for a wedding! This is the collection of pictures I took. For more information, I talk about my favorites in the video above. Check it out!
Welcome to another week! This week, I’m technically sharing 2 collections with you. The first is what I shot in the video. Essentially I wanted to get some amazing fall shots of Kennesaw Mountain before the sun came up, Blue Hour, and as the sun was setting, Golden Hour, in the same day.
So not being a morning person made this a little… difficult. But I managed even without morning coffee. Unfortunately the weather was not on my side, and I was fighting the mist not only on my lenses, but also on the rocks and slick terrain I was climbing.
My love for photography and filmmaking has allowed me to meet some amazing people. I have been so delighted to share my stories and my experiences. Today is different. Kenneth Forrester is a filmmaker that I’ve had the pleasure to work with on a couple of projects now, so I thought it would be a good idea, and Kenneth agreed, to share his powerful story! Thanks for sharing, my friend!
The stress of the election took its toll on me. So last week, I did my very first solo trip to the aquarium. Thanks to my wonderful mom, I have a pass to the Georgia Aquarium for the year 2020. Fortunately, I am starting to have time to use it now. So this week, I do what I do best. I hope that you enjoy my collection. The video above has a breakdown of my trip as well as some tips for shooting in the aquarium! All of this collection is available for prints! Check it out using this link!
I love going to see my friends the Shipps at their home. The property they own is full of nature photography opportunities. I was surprised with the farmers baling the hay last time I made a visit. And like I do, I made it a photo opportunity! Check out what I got!
This week, I don’t have much to share other than my love for this season. All pictures featured in this video are available for prints! Check out my store using this link.
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.
I love subways, photography, and my beautiful home city Atlanta. So this week, I spent some time getting to know my city in the only way I know how… An urban Photo Hike. I decided to grab a day pass for the MARTA and go wherever the Orange Line takes me, which ended up being from the Airport to Doraville! Anyways, here is SOME of my collection. But ALL of my collection can be seen on allorastudios.com where I also have prints available for purchase.