Hidden Treasures

I started photographing rural Tennessee scenes in the Fall of 2012.  Since that time I have created a huge online gallery of images.  This consists mostly old barns, abandoned houses, cemeteries and rural landscapes.

In the beginning I would edit all my photos and typically create some monochrome images out of most of the images.  I regret creating so many monochromes right after a photo outing because it was just to get the pictures done, upload them to the website with the hopes of a print sale, and then quickly move onto the next thing.

Many times I go back through those images and the monochrome edits are not what I would do today.  It's a rushed version and mostly a monochrome edit copied and pasted from another scene in the set.  It's as if I threw my work out to the world without much thought.

Yesterday I was going through a batch of photos from one particular location in Henning, TN.  At the time I edited them I thought they were OK, but I wasn't in love with the captures.  As I looked back on them yesterday I felt they were little treasures that had been overlooked.  There was even one particular photo that was perfect for a conversion to add to my Blue Series Gallery.

What I have learned is to slow down and not be in such a hurry to edit and get finished with everything.  It's best to leave things sit a while and come back.

The Red Bush & Old Porch

This one always caught my eye as I drove by so I decided to go out early one morning at sunrise and photograph the place. So I'm standing in a ditch photographing with my tripod and camera and some lady comes along and tells me the people across the street were about ready to call the police because they thought I was deer hunting. Apparently people do that around here, they stand in a ditch along a country road and deer hunt. To me that sounds silly, but I really have never lived in such a rural area so some of the things that happen around here seem pretty odd. Also, it puzzled me they thought a camera with a wide angle lens on a tripod would look like a gun to hunt with. The moral of this story is when you stand in a ditch and photograph an old house someone may think you are getting ready to shoot a deer.

Praise God - Another Day To Night

Another day to night creation.  I love taking a photo and making it appear as if it was taken during the Blue Hour.  The blue tones give it a cold feel.  The conversion was done in Lightroom.

I'm not sure who worshiped at this church years ago, but I praise God for abandonment.  These structures are fun to photograph and allow the imagination to run wild.  I'm sure the varmints appreciate having some place to go when it's cold too.

Henning, Tennessee

Welcome to Henning, Tennessee.  A very small town in rural West Tennessee less than 2 hours north of Memphis.  There's a lot of history in Henning, but sadly there isn't much happening in Henning with the exception of one place, the Alex Haley Museum and Interpretive Center.

During a busy day you can stand in the middle of the street and not have to worry about getting hit by a car.  There are two intersections in Henning that have a stop light.  This one actually cycles throughout the day.  Even though no cars are at the intersection, it will still turn red every so often. I'm assuming there are no timers of the stop lights because when a car comes to a red light, it doesn't turn green right away.

Henning has tried to leave the old building fronts in tact as much as possible.  This may appear to be a building that could potentially be used for a retail business of some sort, but it's just a hollow shell without a roof.  I think at one point there was a fire that left these two sections a hollow shell open to the weather. 

There's an old watertower in Henning.  Not sure if it's used, but I sure think this point of view is cool.

This well-kept front porch belongs to the Alex Haley Museum and Interpretive Center.  The boyhood home of Alex Haley draws people to Henning.  As I was photographing this home I met a man from Oregon.  He had come all the way to see Alex Haley's boyhood home.  He wants to tell his grandkids he has seen it.  If someone from Oregon has come to Henning to see one home, just imagine how many more visitors would come to the town if it was revitalized.  Henning has loads of potential.  Hopefully one day it will become a vibrant community again.

To see more photos of Henning, follow this link: http://www.christyhunterphotography.com/p418528565

A Spot Along The Road

One of the spots I have visited a couple times to photograph is on the outskirts of Henning, Tennessee.  An old store and farmhouse sit on the corner.  The day I photographed these images was the third time I have photographed the place and it is probably my favorite.  The sky was blue and full of clouds.  Wish I had a time machine so I could go back many years ago and see what these places were like when they were relatively new.