Random photos

Here are some random photos I have taken in the past few weeks as I have wandered about.

Port of Port Gibson

(There's a story here!)

Yazoo River bridge on U.S. 61 North

(Taken a couple of weeks ago)

Old Court House Museum

(Taken from top of the city parking garage)

Pigeons in downtown Vicksburg

Barn in south Claiborne County

Magnolias

I have taken several photos of magnolias in the last few weeks and would like to share them with you. The top two photos are a magnolia in the yard of Goldman Memorial Methodist Church in Cary, Mississippi. The top photo has a softening filter applied to it.

The Rolling Fork Cemetery

Martha Vick House in Vicksburg after a light rain

Sunset at the bridges

A recent sunset taken from the back porch of the Mississippi Welcome Center. It speaks for itself, doesn't it? Isn't God good?

Driving in the Delta

I drove up 61 into the Mississippi Delta on July 15. My mission was to see the annual butterfly invasion in Delta National Wildlife Area. There is a service road that enters the area from up around Valley Park and Cary and I figured that would give me a good idea if they had arrived yet. They had. But it was not as I expected. I have never seen that many small butterflies in all my life. They look like dust rising in the road ahead of your vehicle. Every once in a while there would be clumps of bigger butterflies. Getting photos of those clumps is hard, let me tell you. I shot a few photos of some of the bigger butterflies, including the fellow at the top, but finally gave up on taking photos and just enjoyed walking among the butterflies. I did not drive too far down the service road, because it felt like I would be killing hundreds of the little fellas as I drove. The guilt would not let me go any further, because I hate to kill a butterfly, much less scores of them.

The second photo is a storm I watched go over me near Onward on the way to Delta National. It was real low to the ground and was awesome to watch pass over. I could hear some rumblings of thunder, but never saw any lightning.

I decided to explore some side roads near Cary and found Mr. Turtle crossing the road. I got a blanket out of the truck, threw it on the ground in front of Mr. Turtle and saw how close I could get to him with a 100mm macro lens. Mr. Turtle did not appreciate this. I am just so glad that no one came down the road while I was lying in the middle of the road on a blanket with my camera in the face of Mr. Turtle. That would have been awkward to explain. I could not get Mr. Turtle to smile for the picture.

Port Gibson skyline

A couple of recent trips to Port Gibson yielded these two different shot of the pointed hand atop the steeple of First Presbyterian Church of Port Gibson. The setting sun really made it shine in the second photo. That's the Claiborne County Courthouse in the top photo with the setting sun behind it.

Random shots

Here are some random shots from my meanderings in recent weeks:

Bowmar Magnet School on Bowmar Avenue in Vicksburg during early morning light. I love this photo!

Four cannons on Graveyard Road in the Vicksburg National Military Park

This sign is on a small office in Holly Bluff. I think it has been there awhile.

Sunrise at the Newitt Vick gravesite on Oak Ridge Road

A barn in south Claiborne County.

Inspiration

Do me a favor and scroll down to the July 21 post. See the photo of the old piano? I love that picture. I can tell you why I love the photo as far as technique is concerned, but I did not really express how the photo spoke to me. And that is what I really wanted to do. I love the piano because it has a story to tell...and I was not able to convey that. But I found someone who can.

Rachel at http://lawntea.blogspot.com put into words exactly what I was thinking about the old piano. She loves my photos and I love the way she puts words together. I beg of you to go read what she said about the piano. After reading what she says about the old church, go back and look at the piano again and I swear you will see it in another light.

After that, please delve further into her posts to read more of her writings. She has such a way with words, almost lyrical in nature and so, so descriptive. It's a good place to visit quite often for not many people can write in such a way as to connect with your heart and thoughts.

Rachel lives in Indiana but is a Southern girl. We have never met, just discovered each other in Blogland and have grown to be good friends through each other's posts. I consider her a friend and invite you to meet her as well.

But wait. There's more. Just as Rachel is a master at wordsmithing, please take time to visit Janie at southernlagniappe.blogspot.com. Janie is a Vicksburg woman whose love of photography, the community of Vicksburg and all that is good in life is evident in each post she does. We, too, have become close friends through the magic of blogging. She is the one who inspired me to begin blogging and it has been quite a treat to visit her daily and see a glimpse into her travels around the area. She and I share the same love of photographing things around us. She has a great eye for composition and a soothing way with words. Make her a part of your daily blogging experience. She is doing a wonderful job recording life around her and she is such an inspiration to me. So spend some time on her site, digging all through the archives. The more you look, the more you'll enjoy this blog!

The Missouri Monument

The Missouri State Memorial is located just south of the Stockade Redan on Confederate Avenue, tour stop 10, at milepost 10.9 of the park tour road. It is unique as the only state memorial on the battlefield dedicated to soldiers of both armies. The height is symbolic of the forty-two Missouri units, 27 Union, 15 Confederate. It stands where two opposing Missouri regiments clashed in battle.

The monument features a bronze angel which represents "The Spirit of the Republic." The sculptor was Victor S. Holm. The memorial was erected at a cost of $40,000 and dedicated on October 17, 1917.

The above information comes from the park's web site. It is such a beautiful work of art. Mr. Holm did a wonderful job capturing the men's faces on the reliefs of the monument. The most poignant to me is the top photo. I don't know if the man is wounded or not, but to me it looks like he has just about had as much of the war as he can take.

I implore you to ride through the park this weekend. It's the biggest art museum in the region. And do me a favor: don't just look at the monuments, get up close and see them!

Edwards, Mississippi

Rambled around Edwards, Miss., the other day when I went to find the city cemetery there. I love Edwards Presbyterian Church and you can't find a neater picture than the Edwards sign when you enter the small town. Although, I have to say the earth is reclaiming many of the letters. Jesus ran in an election a while back. I just can't figure out who He was running against. One of those famous scattered thunderstorms of Mississippi passed through while I was riding around and the Lord blessed me with a rainbow. It was faint, but I filled in the colors in my heart. I'll do a post later on for the Edwards Cemetery.

Old Church in Rolling Fork

There is nothing I love more than photographing old churches. This one, I could not find a name for it, lies pretty much in the shadow of Mount Helena in Rolling Fork, Miss. It is just about to fall down and has been propped on the inside. It is a beautiful and simple structure, sitting among a new crop of soybeans. Nothing is inside the church save for one pew, a piano and a table.

I don't impress myself too often with my photos, but I think the top photo is one of the best photos I have taken this year. I just love the composition. The sunlight coming through a window is hitting the keyboard just right. And the simplicity of the wooden walls behind it really frame the piano well. This is why I take photos — because I enjoy capturing images that I like! It's an added bonus if you like it, too.

I did some artsy-tartsy Photoshopping on the two middle photos to make them look a little different. The result is very pleasing to me.

Mount Helena

Mount Helena in Rolling Fork is such a majestic sight. You can see it from a distance if traveling along U.S. 61 on the north side of Rolling Fork. I love the columns of the home and the view of the cornfields that now surround the home is unlike any other. It's built on an Indian mound and is just a neat place to visit. These photos were taken a couple of weekends ago. The corn crop is mighty high around the place.

Crossroads

These mailboxes are near the end of Freetown Road.

The moon was real pretty the other day. This was shot in early morning from the levee over in Louisiana.

Hermanville United Methodist Church on Hwy. 548.

Some pretty flowers at an abandoned church on Freetown Road.

Some pretty flowers at an abandoned church on Freetown Road.

Here are a few photos that I thought you would enjoy today. I love the shot of the maiboxes. I just can't tell you why. No, it's not that it is a secret. I just can't articulate it. It's just a neat picture to me. 'Nuff said.

I would have loved to have gone into the Hermanville church. It was quite a surprise to stumble upon it while out traipsing in Claiborne County recently. A gem of a church! I would have taken more photos, but a German Shepherd and another big dog from across the street had other ideas.

Y'all have a great weekend, everybody. I hope you grab your camera and go capture some of God's Glory that is all around us. That's what I am going to do!