Quack Quack Quack

 

Lunacy

 

The moon is a favorite photographic subject, being the closest celestial object to Earth. Even my 70x zoom lens alone allows us to capture impressive details.

The Union Keeping Guard Over Confederate Graves

 

An old concrete street marker is repurposed at a Montgomery Cemetery, marking the edge of a path, and unintentionally keeping a "Union watch" over a group of Confederate graves.

Way Back Photos

     I made these two photos decades ago, maybe in the 1970's, at a school somewhere in Southern Alabama, but I don't recall the details!

     I liked them enough that I had them enlarged and framed.

     

 

 

The camera I made them with is long gone, but I

was shooting 35mm and may still have the original slides.

     The statue and hallway may have been at a Salesian school in the Mobile area.

Please send me a note if you recognize them!

Thanks!

 Parents preserving their child's visit to the Alabama Capitol Building in February 2023. After their tour and photo-op, I tell the children to save the photo because they will want to use it when they run for Governor!

Quang Tri, Vietnam, 1970

 Vietnamese residents watch as a U.S. Army Medivac helicopter picks up an ill soldier to transport him to a hospital.

1970, Somewhere near Quang Tri, where I was stationed in the U.S. Army.

 

Angel/bird

 At first I though this was an angel, but then determined it is a bird, holding a book? 

One way or the other, it is on top of the Montgomery city court building on Madison Avenue.

Art Review

 

R.R.

 

The Capitol Building in Montgomery

 

In 'Nam

 Sitting on the Armed Forces Vietnam Network jeep in Quang Tri. I spent half my year working for Army Newspapers, the other half anchoring TV news. My 10:00pm News was monitored by the North

 

Vietnamese, since we were the closest station to the DMZ, about 10 miles inside South Vietnam.

I celebrated my 20th birthday there.

Crime Scene

 It used to be the Montgomery Greyhound Station, now it's The Freedom Rides Museum, where police looked the other way as racists attacked the freedom riders arriving to desegregate bus facilities.

Archives Building with Capital Building Reflection 2022

 

Sunlit Alabama Capitol Building Door

 

Long-Closed Church

 This church is part of the Searcy mental hospital for black patients that the state operated for a century. It closed on Halloween 2012. 

(More photos HERE)

Night Light

 

The Lunar Eclipse Begins

 

Winter

 

Art Appreciation During Covid

 

Off To Work

 

Flags

 When I arrived at work at the Alabama Capitol Building this morning about 7:30 it was a crisp very clear day, with winds blowing the flags on top of the building and sunshine illuminating them too.

Here's a distant shot!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 But look at them closeup!

 They're ripped and torn!

Not a way to treat The U.S. Flag!

Street Photo

 

Stair Stare

 

Bird's Eye View

 

Amen

 

The Gov & The Mascots

 It was "Colors Day" at the capitol today....mascots from most of the state's schools gathered to promote the college football season. 

 

*My Photo in Show

      Happy to report that one of the three of the photos I submitted for this year's (56th Annual!) Montgomery Art Guild Regions Bank Art Show was accepted!

     Last year the photo below was accepted...AND won 1st place. 

 We'll see how this year's shot does in the competition😎. HERE is information about the exhibit! (Update: turns out TWO of mine made it in, but I wasn't notified about the second photo in time to turn it in, and the first one did not win any awards!) Here is the one that was accepted, too late:)

(Opening reception/awards ceremony Tuesday, October 4, 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.)

Event Starts	Fri. Sep 24, 2021 05:30 PM
Event Ends	Wed. Oct 20, 2021 04:30 PM
Event Details	The exhibit is open from 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Event Address	Regions Bank Lobby, 2nd Floor Mezzanine, RSA Tower Montgomery 201 Monroe Street Montgomery, AL 36104 USA

 (*Note: through a computer/operator error, I was originally informed that all three of the photos I submitted had been accepted. Virtually every person who entered received the same message. Oops. 

Corrections came the next morning. Still, better one in than none. 😃

Nailed, Sandled Feet

 

First 2022 Blooms

      One of my oldest Night Blooming Cereus plants bloomed last night. Despite the fact that it is a plant right outside my door, I had failed to see it till just a day before! Here it is:

The blooms open late at night, and die with the morning sunlight. A light rain was falling last night.

Memorial Day, Some "Foreign" Deaths in Montgomery

 These photos are posted this Memorial Day to honor the men from Britain and France who died during WWII flight training in Montgomery, as the first photo details.

 

Just as with the hundreds of thousands of Americans who died in that war, these men were mostly young, and were grieved by their families and friends. We remember all of them this Memorial Day. Some died on the same day, a possible indication of an airplane crash with multiple people killed.

 

HERE is the website for Oakwood Cemetery, where the military graves are located (right next to those of Hank Williams and family).

 

On the Oakwood website, you'll find information about a huge effort to clearly identify the names and dates of birth and death for the 36,000 other people buried there. Yes, they are seeking volunteers.