Paul Glover, Photographer

What’s this “Photo Journal” thing anyway?

Putting a camera on a tripod and taking time over the process is all very well. Some of my favorite photos come from that slowed-down process and I can’t argue with the keeper rate, either.

But I truly enjoy the process of making images in general. Seeing something that catches my eye; exploring possible compositions; lining it up in the viewfinder and capturing it. I guess, in a way, it’s the thrill of the hunt. I’m less of a fan of the stuff afterwards; culling; developing; scanning; editing; exporting. Those get filed under necessary evils, if I ever want the work to see the light of day.

This does mean I often have a camera (usually digital or 35mm¹) with me or near me, whether I’m driving into town to pick up some groceries, or walking the dogs on our property or down the road. Some of my favorite photos right here in the site galleries came into being only because I had a camera with me during some other errand.

That does mean I take photos quite often despite having not set out with any real intent to do so. Usually daily, in fact. And a tiny fraction of those will ever make it to the portfolio. But they still deserve love, right?

So without further ado, here is volume 1 of the “Photo Journal” series.

Shopping carts, scraggly sunflowers, and the loss of a legend.

I used to take lots of photos of abandoned and semi-abandoned shopping carts. I try not to so much now, because cliche. But they still speak to me.

This raggedy looking sunflower has been growing near the edge of our driveway for a while now. Unlike the ones we tried to plant a couple of years ago, this one has so far been left alone by the deer which roam the area.

Dolly Parton left us. Our flag was at half-staff for a while in tribute. A mist-shrouded sunrise a few days later made the scene look halfway apocalyptic, which seems entirely apropos for the current state of the country (and the world in general).

Small-town Virginia, USA. The Food City grocery store (and embedded Starbucks!) had it’s own little tribute to Dolly against our constant backdrop of mountains. Pulaski, VA isn’t all that far removed from eastern Tennessee, really, if you think about it.

We will, indeed, always love you. Not loving those fuel prices though, and that’s the cash price with a small discount.

Later, Paul.