I was really excited to visit Atlanta for a few days. I opted to stay out the City with Margie who I hooked up with through Air BnB. It was the first time for me and it was a great experience. Apart from having some great arty chats, She and her partner were really kind hosts. I was fortunate enough to meet up with fellow Samsung Imagelogger Steven Moore who is an Atlanta resident. I took an afternoon off and we cruised the Atlanta neighbourhood in his pickup truck. We had a fair amount of Samsung kit with us, that really helped us get the best of the City. Grafitti is pretty prominent in the City and we came across ROA on 209 Mitchell St, GA 30303 which was painted in 2011 at the living walls conference. I met ROA a few years ago in Brighton and have a really great portrait of him, which will remain private. A really nice guy. The art is amazing.
Margies place
ROA
ROA
We then headed to Cabbagetown to have a look at the Krog Street Tunnel. I was hoping to use the area for a shoot planned for the Saturday. It was a pretty neat location with some amazing grafitti. The set below is probably the last set of images before it was whitewashed that night "
The Atlanta Foundation for Public Spaces planned a masquerade which was to be a private and ticket-only event. The event was voted down at the local Neighborhood Planning Unit, but a permit was approved by the city anyway. This move angered neighbors, who would not have access to the tunnel during the masquerade. Local artist Peter Ferarri stated, "I think artists were upset that their work was being used to promote and sell tickets to this party without any compensation to them."[4]
At 10pm on October 22, 2014, a hundred protesters gathered to paint over all of the art with grey paint, rendering the tunnel art-less for the masquerade.
So enjoy the last memory. I am sure it is now as magnificent as before, but was bit special that we caught it.
Moving out of town, we spent 1/2 an hour photographing a disused prison. Extreme caution should be taken visiting this area, as it is desolate and extremely dangerous such as holes that lead to pits, off the beaten track and maybe un-desirables who may be interested in your camera gear . It is very creepy but strangely beautiful.
Atlanta is a very interesting city with a mix of old and new. You need to plan your trip as traffic can be a nightmare. Trains into the city are cheap and frequent with most stations having free parking. Get a car hire from the Airport is a doddle and really easy to get into the city. Here is a quick guide for a flying visit to Atlanta
The atlanta skyline can be photographed from The bridge on 17th going towards Atlantic Station from Northside. Steve and I set up here and took some classic view shots.
Next day I headed North to Louisville. Its a good 7 hour drive without delay, so an early start was required. I managed to stop on the way to get off the main interstate and pick up some beautiful images from the Tennessee countryside.
Louisville from the Indiana Side
On the return leg that day , I stopped over in Nashville. I have always wanted to visit and I had about 4 hours in which to capture the essence of this magic City on a Friday Night. I found it an easy City to navigate and once you hit Broadway , it's all go ! A mass of people, bars and musicians. A photographers paradise.
Heading back to Atlanta on a Saturday morning I called in a few spots off the I24 to get some images. I wish I had more time around the Tennessee river near the Georgia Line.
