adventures with s and d @bessemer and birmingham (fujica ax-5)

About a month after canceling our road trip to Birmingham and visiting south metro Atlanta, S and I recruited D and set off towards Birmingham. As we would be arriving around lunch time, our first priority was to locate some barbecue. I searched for the best barbecue in Birmingham and Bob Sykes Barbecue came up. It had several good reviews, so we exited the freeway in Bessemer and checked it out. The building was appropriately quirky and the parking lot was packed, so we stopped in and had a delicious lunch.

bessemer

After eating lunch, we decided to explore Bessemer before heading to Birmingham. The first interesting thing we came across was the abandoned Bessemer Battery, which appeared to have been a retail establishment.

We wandered around downtown, where I took a picture of the Bright Star Restaurant sign. I also took a photograph of the letter y.

After that, we drove over to the railroad tracks and discovered a vacant train depot. While the building appeared to be abandoned and had plenty of broken glass and other debris inside, there were some signs that a renovation was about to begin. Stacked against a column were several plates of glass with a recent receipt.

birmingham

Instead of the interstate, we took US 11 from Bessemer to Birmingham in hopes of finding something interesting to photograph along the way. We were sorely disappointed.

When we arrived at downtown Birmingham, we found a few things worth taking pictures of. I took this photograph of the Cabana Hotel sign. At the end of my last roll of film, I took a picture of this puddle in a parking lot that clearly has a few maintenance issues.

adventures with s @south metro atlanta (fujica ax-5)

A month or so after our trip to Augusta S and I had scheduled an expedition to Birmingham, Alabama, to photograph even more rusty crap. The night before our trip, a tornado hit downtown Atlanta and the next morning another line of storms was over Birmingham.

Over breakfast at the Silver Skillet, we decided to cancel the Birmingham trip and head to south metro Atlanta, where, according to our Iphones, there were no storms. Near Fairburn, we found a rather dilapidated abandoned house and stopped to take a few photographs. I took this picture of an abandoned dresser that was sitting on the side porch. I was having a hard time focusing and something about the camera seemed off, but I figured it was just that I had not used my Fujica AX-5 in a while and I needed a bit to adjust from the sharper Nikon D70.

As we were driving along SR 16 (Newnan Road), we came across an abandoned gas station, where I shot this photograph of a decaying Ford truck. As we were getting out of the car to head over to the gas station, a passerby asked if we wer all right or needed help, a marked contrast to my usual haunts in Atlanta where folks ask for change.

Abandoned houses are apparently a common theme in south metro Atlanta. It wasn't long before we came across this nicely air conditioned house complete with an easy chair. It was in a much worse state of disrepair than the one we found in Fairburn and provided plenty of interesting photography opportunities.

After the trip, I dropped my film off at Showcase for development and waited a few days. After bringing the film home, cutting it, and putting it in negative preservers, I took a good look at it and discovered everything was out of focus. So I took my Fujica AX-5 to the Camera Doctor in Decatur. For a quite reasonable price, albeit twice what I paid on Ebay for the camera, he repaired the focusing screen, replaced all the light seals, cleaned, and lubricated the camera.

more of the former cotton warehouse @grantville (fujica ax-5)

On yet another trip to Grantville, I convinced a friend to go as well. This time, to mix things up, I shot some black and white film. I especially like how this vine on the side of a former cotton warehouse came out. I am also fond of this black and white version of a valve on the wall of a former cotton warehouse.

While wandering around downtown, we were disappointed to discover that Nick's Pizza Stop was closed for the holiday. However, we did come across an ancient Chevrolet Suburban with "No Fear" spray painted on the side.

old barn and old truck @douglas county (fujica ax-5)

Tired of photographing urban decay, one evening I headed west along US 78 (Bankhead Highway) towards Douglas County, Georgia, to see what I could discover. Driving randomly down country roads near Villa Rica, I came across a dilapidated barn. The ancient barn was in bad shape, as evidenced by this photograph showing a hole in the structure. Also, the rusty roof was decaying badly and panels were missing.

Headed back to Atlanta through Villa Rica, I found an old Ford truck parked just outside of downtown. Surprisingly, the headlight of the F100 was in decent shape. In the window of the truck was a sign that read:

Ford F100
1964
V8 3SPD
Runs Great
No Title
$1995

Obviously, a bargain at twice the price!

more ideas from the professor @oakland cemetery (fujica ax-5)

Oakland Cemetery is one of my favorite places to shoot flicks, mostly because several visitors have expressed they are not wild about cemetery photographs.

A few years ago, during a conversation with my friend The Professor, he mentioned riding through Oakland Cemetery as a child and wondering about the monuments reflecting the Downtown Atlanta skyline, which is visible from the graveyard. As this was an excellent idea, I set off to implement it.

This monument is similar to the Suntrust building in the background, yet different from the other buildings in the skyline. Also, the monument appears to be the same scale as the buildings and slightly taller than Peachtree Center. This photograph reverses the dynamic, with the tombstone dominating the Westin in the background.

The next two flicks focus on the Fulton Bag and Cotton Mills building, now converted into lofts. The first is a monument reflecting the water tower and building and the second is a different marker reflecting the water tower. I think these photographs work well with the Professor's idea, what do you think?

Those who missed it may wish to peruse The Professor And His Ideas @Oakland Cemetery.

echo lounge @east atlanta (fujica ax-5)

In the days of way back, soon after I first moved to Atlanta, I was introduced to the Echo Lounge by a co-worker. One day while The Man was keeping us down, she mentioned her band, now defunct, would be playing that Friday at the Echo Lounge. I think that was the first show I saw in Atlanta and was certainly the first of many 3d5spd shows I attended.

While Sharks and Minnows, the opening band, were playing, I spotted an athletic long haired brunette in a simple dress with a tattoo on her back - how racy - smoking a cigarette at a table by herself. I walked over and chatted with her. Later on in the evening, when I requested her phone number, she simply replied, "No." I wish every woman was that succinct.

Highlights I remember from the Echo Lounge include discovering Sunday Munich and their unbelievable singer Sarah when Spy canceled the night their guitarist's first child was born, a Nightporters reunion show put on by Stomp and Stammer, and Methane Studios' annual poster sales.

My co-worker has long since moved away, most of the bands I saw there have fallen into the dustbin of unwritten history, and the Echo Lounge itself is in a state of disrepair. Rumor has it a new music hall and an Irish Pub are opening in the building, or may be open already - East Atlanta is no longer my stomping grounds, but rumors have swirled for several years, so I will believe it when I see it.

Now for the photographs of the Echo Lounge: first is a light fixture attached to the decaying roof, next up is rotting wood and twisted metal, after that, a tree growing up next to the building, and finally, the saddest flick of them all - a dilapidated for rent sign.

Most of the time, the decay is just there - a somewhat abstract commentary on the state of the country during the King George the Fourth era. In contrast, the slow disintegration of the Echo Lounge is personal and reminds me of a time in my life that I miss.

vehicles @cabbagetown (fujica ax-5)

Cabbagetown is an Atlanta neighborhood that fell on hard times when the nearby cotton mill closed, but has been revitalizing recently. Fortunately, the yuppies have not completely taken over and there are still some interesting things to photograph. One of the first things I found was this excellent shadow on the side of a Volkswagen Microbus.

Towards the end of the trip, I came across a scooter sitting on the sidewalk. As I was photographing it, some hipster sitting on the steps kept glancing up from his book and looking at me funny. I ignored him. Eventually, he asked me what I was doing. I responded and handed him a card with a web address on it. I think it was his scooter, but he never said it was.

The dark spots in the lower left hand corner are due to a shutter malfunction in the ancient Fujica AX-5. Sometimes it ruins photographs, but is generally avoidable by keeping the shutter speed at 1/250th of a second or below. With the two pictures of the scooter, I think it works with the compostition. Thoughts?