The Blowing Rock: April 21, 2013

I miss Blowing Rock.  When I lived in North Carolina, Blowing Rock was my getaway spot. The town was close enough to make a last-minute weekend trip, or even a day trip.  I loved the scenic, twisting, turning journey to get there.  The town offers incredible vistas, unique shops and galleries, bed-and-breakfast inns, plentiful restaurants and even an outlet mall.  But I did not go to Blowing Rock to shop.  The lure of Blowing Rock was the peace and serenity attached to the mountain views.  In addition to being the name of the town, there is also a legendary cliff known as The Blowing Rock, which lies thousands of feet above the beautiful Johns River Gorge.  The cliff is named The Blowing Rock because the walls of the gorge force the winds to sweep up with such force that light objects cast over the cliff are blown back to the cliff. This phenomena prompted a Ripley’s “Believe It or Not” cartoon about “the only place in the world where snow falls upside down.” The Blowing Rock is also the focus of  a legendary story about two Native American lovers.  The following is an account of the Legend of The Blowing Rock quoted from The Blowing Rock website.

It is said that a Chickasaw chieftan, fearful of a white man’s admiration for his lovely daughter, journeyed far from the plains to bring her to The Blowing Rock and the care of a squaw mother. One day the maiden, daydreaming on the craggy cliff, spied a Cherokee brave wandering in the wilderness far below and playfully shot an arrow in his direction. The flirtation worked because soon he appeared before her wigwam, courted her with songs of his land and they became lovers, wandering the pathless woodlands and along the crystal streams.

One day a strange reddening of the sky brought the brave and the maiden to The Blowing Rock. To him it was a sign of trouble commanding his return to his tribe in the plains. With the maiden’s entreaties not to leave her, the brave, torn by conflict of duty and heart, leaped from The Rock into the wilderness far below. The grief-stricken maiden prayed daily to the Great Spirit until one evening with a reddening sky, a gust of wind blew her lover back onto The Rock and into her arms. From that day a perpetual wind has blown up onto The Rock from the valley below. 

I have to concede that I have never tossed an object off The Blowing Rock to see if it would be blown back.  Nor have I seen the snow fall upside down.  It doesn't matter whether those things are true or not.  I like The Blowing Rock just the way it is.

Seven Seas: April 14, 2013

No, I was not alive back in the the 50's, but I did take this photo.  I think the photographer's eye is trained to survey the environment and focus in on interesting scenes, patterns and colors.  This scene revealed itself as I drove in Coral Gables, Florida.  In the midst of the traffic, I was drawn to the colors of the Seven Seas restaurant.  The vintage automobile parked outside was the icing on the cake.  An quick (and probably illegal) u-turn landed me in the parking lot.  I walked around surveying different angles until I got just the shot I wanted.  

Standing Out in the Crowd: April 7, 2013

In 2005 I invited a very talented artist from Australia to Atlanta to participate in the Atlantis Music Conference.  During the time that she was here, we went to visit the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in Macon, Georgia. There was a lot of interesting memorabilia and many interesting displays.  One that caught my attention was a case full of guitars.  Visually I was struck by the beauty of the instruments and the patterns they created.  I loved the different textures as well as the intricate combination of wood and steel.  But what really caught my attention was the red guitar in the middle.  I immediately associated the guitars with people.  Each guitar had its own unique features, colors and textures, yet they all worked the same way to produce music, but only when they were carefully tuned and placed in the right hands.  And then there was the red one.  We all know a red guitar or two; those people who shine and stand out in the crowd no matter who's around them.  In fact, I was with a red guitar.  I looked at her and smiled, and moved to the next display.     

Peace in a Field: March 31, 2013

This photo makes me think of cheeseburgers.  Let me explain.  Several years ago I was hanging out with a friend from the midwest who was craving a White Castle cheeseburger.  Even though there were no White Castles in Atlanta, I agreed to drive to the closest location so that she could satisfy her craving, and I could try one for the first time.  We got in the car and entered White Castle into the navigation system.  I held my breath waiting for the results.  The closest one was in Nashville, about four hours away.  Off we went; yes, four hours just to go to White Castle.  

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Fast forward to 2013 and I can barely remember what I thought about the food, but I do remember the adventure of the journey to get it.  We didn't do any sight-seeing in Nashville; we just ate and immediately headed back to Atlanta.  On the way back we stopped at a gas station in the-middle-of-nowhere-Tennessee.  As the gas flowed into my car, something told me to look across road, where I saw this incredibly calm and peaceful scene.  It was such a contrast to the randomness and energy of our road trip.  I stood there and soaked it in even after I'd finished pumping the gas.  Of course I had my camera so I was able to bring this little piece of peace back to Atlanta. 

The End of the Tracks: March 24, 2013

Yesterday I was looking for a specific photo to send to a friend who wanted to use it for a product label. I knew I was in the right folder but I just kept hitting the right arrow button over and over again looking for the photo.  I quickly scrolled past these train tracks without paying much attention.  Although it wasn't the one I was looking for, I had to scroll back and take a second look.  As my eyes naturally flowed to the end of the tracks, I flashed back to the day several years ago when I took this photo.  I remember standing there on the bridge wondering what lied up ahead, beyond the trees.  Was there another bridge, a river, a mountain, a barrier, a small town?  As I stood there, an elderly man came walking by me.  He seemed friendly and I asked him if he knew what was up ahead.  He said he didn't, but suggested that I go see for myself, which I was curious enough to do.  When I got to the end of the bridge I climbed down the rocky hillside and started walking down the tracks.  As I  walked, I soon realized that I couldn't find the "end" that I'd seen from the bridge.  Just more tracks, more trees, and an old man standing on the bridge watching me learn that the end was not in sight.

Photo of the Day: March 17, 2013

Bored in a room.  That's how I found myself.  But then again, how can you ever be bored if you have a camera and something to shoot?  I was at a friend's house waiting for her to get ready.  As usual, it was taking forever.  At least it was until I noticed the way her candles were "floating" on the glass tabletop that was nestled up against the orange wall.

Photo of the Week: March 10, 2013

Several years ago I got kicked out of my own house by a friend who was hosting a baby shower.  Lucky for me, it was a beautiful spring day so I ventured out with my camera in search of some great shots.  This a shot of the Georgia State Capital.  On this particular day I found the tulips more interesting than the Gold Dome itself.