"The sun rises in Butts County," he was overheard to say prompting me to launch myself southward, well befo' dawn, riddled with angst and indecision.
"It'll be free-standing by six-thirty," he was overheard to say attempting to confuse me with dog show talk, so determined was I to photograph a sunrise and a sunset, both in the same day.
Mile 53.0/ 0710am. Racing thru the preglow southeast of Locust Grove, I turn left on Cr 335 and hail deliverance, a railroad crossing at the end of 200 yards of prime dirt road, as the cautious orb peeks above the horizon. Photograph: dirt road and crossing, tracks pointing into the sunrise, and some trees.
Mile 65.3/0830am. Photograph: Towaliga Baptist Church, flush with contrition, anointed with sanctified morning light. Later, Thunder Creek Motor Cross track. A pond wilth cows drinking. Two trees silhouetted against High Falls Lake. Fall foliage reflected across some tea colored backwater.
Mile 104.6/1621pm. Turn north on Interstate 75, head for Jackson Georgia, empty handed. It's relatively easy to chance upon a great spot to photograph the sunrise, or the sunset; it's nearly impossible to hit upon decent locations for both in the same day.
Mile 116.3/1643pm. Power down the Beagle, ease into a parking space on the square in Jackson. Mulled over the day's photo ops over some pulled port at Frix's B-B-Que. Then, strolled into the falling light for a photowalk around town, and into a few back alleys. Photograph: rusty drain pipe, Poulan chain saw sign, discarded washer/dryers, Cook's Lunch Room, a one-way sign, Hunter's Soul Food, a confederate statue under fluorescent light, ending the last roll with my final shot thru a side window - a three-masted wicker ship daring into a twilight sea encouraged by the setting sun.
There's a saying among outdoor photographers, namely: always save one shot for the sunset. I finally found my sunset in Jackson that night.
Title: © Ship in Window. r0495-20
Series: Windows and Doors
Location: Jackson, Georgia
Butts County
Date: Saturday 16 November 1991
