Joshua Tree

Hi stranger! Where've you been? Or more accurately, where have I been?  Well, the short answer is "livin' life!"  Honestly, this winter was such a cold, long tortuous one when the weather finally broke and the sun came out to melt the snow, I kinda went a little crazy with being outdoors as much as possible.  That meant not a lot of computer time which is a good thing sometimes, you know?  

Alright, now that we're all caught up, there's one more place I've been... California!  My home away from home.  We spent a long week staying with friends and got away for the weekend to Joshua Tree.  I always love it there and this time was no exception.  We stayed in the most rockin' cabin ever.  The decor was straight out of the early 70s (in the best way possible) complete with a turntable and vinyl collection.  We checked our cellphones at the door and spent the weekend with great friends in a time warp in the desert.

Alabama Black Belt, Pt. 5

Here a just a few more photos from out time spent winding out way across the state of Alabama.  The town of Luverne has a sign welcoming us and stated they were "The Friendliest Town in the South".  I have to say they lived up to that as we ran into a couple of strangers that were more than happy to stop and tell us stories about growing up there.  One even opened an old building and have us a quick tour.  Now that the trip and entire project is over, we're getting excited for our next adventure... California and the Mojave Desert in May!

Alabama Black Belt, Pt. 4

By day four of our trip, we'd finally adjusted to the climate, had our camera routines down pat and were excited to see where the road would take us next.  We got to tour a cotton gin, visited George Wallace's birthplace (where there is a giant mural of him, complete with a black cloud over his head) and drove countless miles in search of our next stop.  Here are a few photos that I snapped along the way. 

Alabama Black Belt, Pt. 3

When we left our hotel room on the third morning of our trip, it was (of course) already impossibly hot and humid.  Overnight we'd kept the air-conditioner running in the room to soak up as much cool air as possible.  Our camera equipment was resting in the room with us as well, also soaking up the cool temperatures.  As soon as we stopped to take our first photo the hot humid air flooded our cameras fogging up every lens, viewfinder and mirror, inside and out.  We had to sit in the car, in 90 degree temperatures, with the heat on, holding our equipment in front of the vents to dry out our cameras and lenses.  Needless to say, it was not the best way to start the day.  But from there, things looked up quickly and we made our way across the state.  

Once again, all of these photos were taken by me with one of three cameras:  a Diana on 35mm film, a Canon Rebel T3i and a Fuji Instax 210.  You can also see some of the photos Tom took on his Tumblr. 

Alabama Black Belt, Pt. 2

After an unseasonably cold and rainy first day on the road, the second day delivered the sun and heat we expected when we planned the trip.  Hot and humid!  We drove through historic Tuskegee, explored old Cahawba and crossed over the Alabama River.  Here are a few photos I snapped along the way. 

Alabama Black Belt, Pt. 1

Our first (and likely only) Kickstarter project has officially come to a close.  The funds were raised, the trip taken, photographs edited, books printed and rewards mailed.  Now that the chapter is closed, I thought I would take this week to share some of the photos that I took for the project.  All of the photos were taken with one of three cameras:  a Diana on 35mm film, a Canon Rebel T3i and a Fuji Instax 210.  You can also see some of the photos Tom took on his Tumblr. 

Gulf Shores

Tom and I were recently visiting my family in Alabama and snuck away to the Gulf of Mexico for one night.  When I tell people here in Lancaster that we went to the beach in Alabama, the response is usually, "there's a beach in Alabama?"  Yes!  Quite a lovely beach if I may say so myself.   I grew up going to the Gulf every summer but since moving away, I hadn't been in, oh... ten years?  I can't believe it had been that long.  As soon as my feet hit the white sandy beach I felt right at home.  The water was warm, the skies were clear.  We waded out to the sandbar and walked down the beach collecting seashells.  There was even a rainbow when we woke up in the morning!

Chickies Rock

A while back I purchased a refurbished digital SLR (a Canon EOS Rebel XS) with the intention of learning to use it to improve the quality of photos I take.  The first few times I used it I just felt frustrated and it went into a drawer to be ignored for months on end.  With our upcoming trip, I knew I wanted to try one more time to master the darn thing.  So, the other day, Tom and I took advantage of the unseasonably nice weather (seriously, it feels like fall in August here) and took a hike out to Chickies Rock so I could practice taking photos. 

Chickies Rock is part of the Lancaster County park system and it's so close to us and such an easy walk I can't believe we've never done it before.  A short walk through the woods pays off with a beautiful view overlooking the Susquehanna River.  I snapped about a hundred photos in half an hour until I finally figured out all the buttons and gizmos.  Now that I have that figured out, I'm getting really excited about our trip!  On the way back to the car, we passed a spot where we joked we once would have stopped to take blog photos.  So... here's me in my rolled out of bed outfit, no make up and unbrushed hair! In other words, what I usually look like. 

The Black Belt Project

(Photos taken by Tom and me.  Although not an exact reflection of the work we're aiming to document in the Black Belt, here's a sampling of images taken in Alabama in the past.)

The closer we get to our trip to Alabama, the more excited we are getting!  Our Kickstarter project has only 8 days left and we're so very appreciative of all the support we've received.  We have backers for our project from Norway to Australia and scattered all across the United States!  We've been busy sorting out the details of the trip; studying the Alabama atlas, reaching out to local folk artists for tips on places to visit, researching the history of the area and makings lists of things to pack (lots of sunscreen and insect repellant).  

While we plan on making the trip on our own even if the Kickstarter project goal is not met, we are crossing our fingers that we're able to share our adventure with as many people as possible!  The funds from the Kickstarter project will be used to publish a record of our time spent exploring the Black Belt aimed at delivering a balance of historic, cultural, and contemporary influences from the region that put the Belt's vast diversity on full display. 

If you'd like to follow along on our journey, please be sure to check out the details via our Kickstarter page.  There are various levels of support available and each one carries with it a variety of rewards.  Every little bit helps!  Tom and I thank you again for your support, not only for this project, but for all or your support over six years (!) of blogging, photographing and exploring! 

Kickstarter: The Black Belt of Alabama

OK, here we go... remember last week when I mentioned Tom and I spent a day in NYC and visited the Kickstarter offices?  Well, this is what we were working on; a book project for our next road trip through Alabama!  As you probably already know, I'm a born and raised 'Bama girl.  I've since lived in California and now Pennsylvania, but a large part of my heart will always reside in that southern state.  

If you'd like to check out more details, you can read all about it on the Kickstarter project page.   Our plans are to spend about 10 days driving through the Black Belt region of Alabama (the region encompasses the central counties of the state, from east to west).  We'll stop along the way at any spot that catches our interest, photographing whatever landscapes, structures or people we discover.  We're excited to see where this adventure takes us!

Above you can see the video we posted telling you a little more about the project (why is it so hard to watch oneself in motion?  I swear I don't sound like that - but I guess I do).  And on the project page, you can read about the rewards we're offering;  everything from a digital PDF of the book, to signed & numbered printed copies, postcards, giclée prints and loads more!  

If you're interested in pitching in or just following along, I'll be posting updates here as we get ready for our road trip.  Thank you so much for checking this out and for all of your support! 

Pittsburgh

 - 30s cotton dress
 - 70s tooled leather bag
 - J. Crew flats

As  I mentioned last week, Tom and I made a road trip to Pittsburgh to see The National and on the way stopped by the Frank Lloyd Wright Fallingwater house for a tour.  While on the tour we heard an old lady remark that it was "a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there."  Meanwhile, Tom and I were thinking the exact opposite.  Although, I bet it sure is cold there in the wintertime. 

After our tour we drove into Pittsburgh and walked around to a few vintage shops.  The shops were mostly packed with 70s era polyester and tacky prints, but I did manage to find a pretty white eyelet cotton skirt that came home with me.  Perhaps there are better vintage shops there, but I didn't happen upon them.  

For lunch we sat at the counter at Primanti Bros. and watched sandwich after sandwich being assembled;  fresh cut bread, grilled meat, cheese, fries, coleslaw, tomatoes, topped with another piece of bread.  We had the cheese combo and the fries come right in the sandwich.  

We took an after lunch stroll around the river and across one of the sunny yellow bridges before heading over to the show.  The National put on a great show and played a 22 song set that I didn't want to end.  I was only slightly disappointed that they didn't play "Fireproof" since I wanted to hear my name in the song.  But I was standing in the right place at the right time and during "Mr. November" Matt Berninger walked out into the crowd and I got tangled up in his mike cord and he ending up singing six inches from my face.  Good times.