Taking Notes and Photos

A rundown town in Georgia. April 2023. Photo by me.

 

Having left the city of Atlanta in the fall of 2021 and moved to a different part of Georgia, I have easier access to a part of the state that I am largely unfamiliar. This part of the state is more rural and remnants of the past still dot the landscapes in their often decayed states. I am reminded some, but not entirely, of where and when I grew up and still my perspective has changed. I am finding new places to inspire my writing. 

 

I seem to be constantly snapping photos and making notes of what I see as I travel about in my comings and goings in these areas. The new places are inspiring me to think about ideas for writing that I had not considered before.

This is a photographic tour of some of those places.

March 2023. Photo by me.

March 2023. Photo by me.

March 2023. Photo by me.

April 2023. Photo by me.

April 2023. Photo by me.

April 2023. Photo by me.

April 2023. Photo by me.

May 2023. Photo by me.

May 2023. Photo by me.

May 2023. Photo by me.

May 2023. Photo by me.

May 2023. Photo by me.

May 2023. Photo by me.

May 2023. Photo by me.

May 2023. Photo by me.

May 2023. Photo by me.

May 2023. Photo by me.

None of the places shown here are in Athens, though I spend enough time there, but are instead in the smaller places on the map or not on any map at all. These places make me feel as if I am living in the early 80s music of the Athens band, R.E.M. 

These particular R.E.M. songs are in my head quite often as I wander: Can't Get There From Here, Feeling Gravitys Pull and Gardening At Night.

Two of the songs come from the 1985 album, Fables of the Reconstruction. It is an album that features southern gothic characters and themes. Wikipedia describes the album this way, "Lyrically, the album explores the mythology and landscape of the South..."

I am also drawing inspiration from my favorite photographer, William Eggleston - also a southerner.

In early March I went out to a ghost town that is far from any place, down a long gravel road and along a river. I have not written about that place yet and it is not in the photos shown here.