Category: Photos

Smith Mill Road on a Spring morning in central Georgia’s Oconee National Forest near Wise Creek.

This photo is from the Chattahoochee River on the new overlook along the Cochran Shoals Trail. I liked it because of the distance you can see the I-285 bridge crossing the river.

I stumbled on the loveliest pond during a day hike in the Chattahoochee National Recreation Area. I was hiking through the Sope Creek Unit, and came up on Sibley Pond.

Lake Seminole is one of Georgia’s largest (and shallowest) lakes. It’s in the far southwest corner of the state. This photo is from Seminole State Park looking West over an inlet.

Earlier this summer, we visited Seminole State Park in the very Southwest corner of Georgia. It’s a small, but lovely State Park. Even though it doesn’t have a lot of acreage, much of it preserves an rare stand of native Longleaf Pine Forest. This photo is what a natural stand looks like – wide, open, no mid-story, but a diverse understory.

This is a photo of a lone dogwood flower that I took while hiking along Dockery Lake in North Georgia.

In my neighborhood, dogwoods are super-common as a landscaping / ornamental tree. That’s great – they are native, beautiful, and perfect for yards. But I also forget that they are super-common out in the wild & forests of Georgia. It’s always cool to see one out on a hike.

Kings Creek Falls is a beautiful set of waterfalls near Burrell’s Ford along the Chattooga River.

This photo is of a kudzu forest(?) overwhelming a property in Atlanta. It’s the Vine That Ate The South. It’s maddening, but also beautiful in its own way.

Fall in Grant Park Atlanta, GA is always amazing. This photo is looking from the Milledge Triangle towards Constitution Spring area.

This is a photo of the sunset over Grant Park at Zoo Atlanta.

This photo is of the Tallulah River headwaters in North Carolina’s Southern Nantahala Wilderness. It’s really cool to see rivers at this stage. It doesn’t take it long to make its way to the Tallulah Gorge and onward to meet the Chattooga to form the Savannah River.

This photo is of Bearpen Ridge in the Southern Nantahala Wilderness near the Tallulah River in mid-October. The sky and forest contrast was unbelievable in person. It’s everything that is amazing about the Southern Appalachians.

The Swann Preserve is a lovely little nature preserve on the southside of Atlanta. It protects a small forest of mature trees along with a portion of the headwaters of the South River.

There is a PATH Foundation trail through the preserve with a bridge over the South River.

Atlanta is actually the headwaters for several rivers, even though it’s not in the mountains. This section of the South River is still fairly clear and not as polluted, unlike the section through Constitution Lakes.

This photo is from January near Burgess Mountain in the Oconee National Forest. I love how there is a pine stand right along the road with lots of overgrowth, but with a little walking it transforms into an open Oak Hickory forest. It’s lovely at all times of year, but is especially open in the winter.

This photo is a bend in the Little River as it makes its way through the Oconee National Forest on its way to the Oconee River at Lake Sinclair.

There’s a lovely Magnolia tree in Grant Park that has the largest, most fragrant blooms I’ve ever seen or smelled.

Murder Creek is one of the last remaining examples of undisturbed, undeveloped bottomland forest in Georgia. It also has some of the only unlogged, old growth forest in the Georgia Piedmont. It flows through the Oconee National Forest. The publicly owned around Murder Creek was designated a Research Natural Area by the US Forest Service in the 1970s.

Last Fall, we visited Victoria Bryant State Park. The park is centered around Rice Creek, which eventually flows into the Broad River.

The creek was a really perfect example of a Piedmont stream. Really beautiful area. I only wish it was a bigger park.

This photo is from Loring Heights Park, nestled in the neighborhood of Loring Heights. It’s another one of Atlanta’s quiet, small neighborhoods scattered through the city. Sitting in the park, you’d never know that you are less than a half mile from Midtown.

This is a photo of Cooper Creek in the Chattahoochee National Forest flowing by the Cooper Creek Campground. I took this on a January afternoon. It’s really popular with anglers, and with beavers.

These photos are all from my pre-COVID-19 planespotting expeditions at the world’s busiest airport. You do have to be pretty creative to find any good spots. All the runways are parallel to the concourses and perpendicular to major highways. Plus, security is crazy high. But there are a few spots that are worthwhile.

This is a photo of a pasture in Athens, GA taken from the back porch of our home there. The land was owned by the University of Georgia and used by the Agriculture school. So even though we lived “in the city”, the view out our back porch was actually rural.

This photo is of Sweetwater Creek which flows through one of the best State Parks in Georgia before joining the Chattahoochee River. Even though it’s in the Piedmont, the sharp reliefs and tree species around the Creek make it reminiscent of North Georgia,

This photo is of the former Turner Field looking from Downtown. Even though Atlanta doesn’t play baseball there anymore, I’m glad that the stadium has been repurposed again for Georgia State Baseball.

I miss summer baseball there. Even though I’m not super-pumped that the Atlanta Braves left downtown, I am glad the actual stadium continues to serve as a reminder that we can repurpose buildings instead of just tearing them down.

This stadium served as the Olympic Stadium before serving as a baseball stadium, and now as a football stadium.

These are all of my photos of Atlanta’s skyline. Atlanta’s skyline stretches on a North to South spine along Peachtree St so there are lots of interesting angles. It’s a beautiful city that I love living in.

These are photos along Peter St in the Castleberry Hill neighborhood in Atlanta.

Castleberry Hill is a really interesting neighborhood. It’s nestled in between the railroad tracks of the Gulch, Downtown Atlanta, and Interstate 20.

It’s got it’s own vibe with plenty of restaurants, shops and lofts. I’m really partial to No Mas! Cantina that has incredible Mexican food and a next door Mexican furniture shop. Great for a meal and browse.

This is an old photo of the Georgia Dome right before it was demolished to make room for Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

This photo is from a rainy Fourth of July in 2015. The rain cancelled a lot of events and get togethers, but it was also one of those nice, steady summer rains that created lots of nice moments.

This photo is from Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward Park. It’s now been nearly 10 years since it was built from nearly scratch. It’s a multiple-purpose park that serves as much as stormwater catchment as a public park. It’s lovely with plenty of space for walking, relaxing, and letting kids play.

Piedmont Park is Atlanta’s Central Park nestled right in the middle of Midtown. I don’t go there as much as I’d like, but when I do go, I’m always amazed by its size and beauty. The best time to visit is in May, but it’s nice all times of year.

This photo is from a late Spring run around the Georgia State Capitol. It’s pretty busy during the Winter (when the Assembly is in session), but during the Spring & Summer, it’s a pretty place to run by.

This photo is from Mitchell St in Downtown Atlanta. It’s part of what was “Hotel Row” near the old train stations. Most of the buildings in the area have been torn down for parking lots. But this strip of buildings provides a small idea of what Downtown Atlanta used to look like.

This photo is from Peachtree St looking at I-85 right where it merges with I-75 to form Atlanta’s Downtown Connector.

This photo is of a Tulip Bush in bloom in rural Georgia. Lovely scene from summer.

This photo is from Panola Mountain State Park.

This photo is of Constitution Lake in Southeast Atlanta.

This is a photo of Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium during an Atlanta United game. It’s an incredible venue. It’s what you’d expect from a $1.5 billion price tag. The views, concessions, seating, and “nice-ness” is right on.

This photo is from Midtown New York. I’ve been able to travel through New York a few times for both business and leisure.

This photo is from Rocky Mountain in North Georgia looking out over the Blue Ridge mountains. It has a filter applied to bring out the literal “blue ridge” that you can see with in person eyes. It’s a beautiful landscape and well worth the hike.

This photo is of a young American Elm tree (foreground) and Peach tree that we planted in Fall 2019. They’ve been established and thriving for just a year now.

The American Elm is a Princeton variety. It is has the highest resistance to Dutch Elm Disease of any surviving Elm varietal. We’re hoping it will continue to thrive and maybe help in a small way with repopulating American cities with majestic Elms again.

This photo is of a young maple tree in Grant Park. Every Fall, I love just how yellow it turns – much more than other nearby maples.

This photo is from an older wooded subdivision in Oconee County, Georgia. It has many young hardwoods – mostly White Oaks and Hickory trees.

Every year, I forget just how many leaves can drop in the span of just a few weeks.

This photo is from the Grant Park Summer Shade Festival back in August 2017. The day was warm and sunny. The park was active and fun. It was a quintessential neighborhood festival.

The festival got cancelled in 2020 due to The Pandemic. I’m looking forward to when it can return.