Sunset - Promise of a New Day

Every sunset brings the promise of a new dawn (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

Last March, on a trip back to Texas from Atlanta, we had just crossed the Chattahoochee River and came into the little hamlet of Columbia, Alabama. The combination of church and sunset, made us stop, it just looked magical.

Finally coming around, editing the picture - I did some research on that church building and found out that the Columbia United Methodist Church had quite a little history in its walls.  According to a website that seems to not have been updated in over 15 years, the town of Columbia was founded in 1821.

So called circuit riders (clergymen on horseback who rode from congregation to congregation to give their sermons) were the first to teach, until 1845 when a full-time pastor was appointed. After being housed in a single room building, where the High School is now, the church saw a need for a new building as their congregation was growing. In 1889 the pictured church was completed on Church Street (also named Alabama State Route 52) and Davis Street. After World War II, in 1949 the church was bricked and in 1956 and 1978 tow annex buildings for sunday school and a fellowship hall were added.

But not everything is new, the website says that the church still houses the original bell of the first church, which was carried over to the United Methodist Church in the picture.

Sources: Columbia United Methodist Church

Night Shift

A lone security guard at the end of the lobby, guarding an office building. As I love to document work in BW pictures I am really taken with the colors in this one. The almost complimentary colors are working wonders for this shot. And the "cold" outside fights the "warm" inside, but there is a guard denying access. There is something Kafkaesque in this shot. 

The BW on the other hand is more to reality in some certain ways: unarmed guards make minimum wage and do mostly "observe & report" duties. It just shows the job at what it is, a simple job. 

Both these shots are available for publication through Dispatch Press Images, a photo agency. They are also featured in my ClickASnap portfolio.

Downtown Dallas

Dallas has been in the news lately. I hope that the message of unity - even after the senseless killing of five police officers - shone through. Come to Dallas and enjoy this bustling megaplex in North Texas. Take a stroll downtown, visit Thanksgiving Square (above) and be prepared to change your view. Dallas has nothing to do with the TV show of the same name, which probably hurt this town more than actually reflecting the inclusiveness and diversity this city projects. Just wandering around you will find tons of great opportunities to shoot. Dallas is "a steel and concrete soul with a warm hearted love disguise" as it says in Jimmie Dale Gilmore's song "Have You Ever Seen Dallas From A DC-9 At Night?"

This shot and other photography of mine are available through Dispatch Press Images for publication.
Originally published at Downtown Dallas - Niume Photography Blog -  on July 29th, 2016.