Saturday, April 13, 2013

A Sense of Place - Week One Reflection

It's been awhile.  I think I needed a little breather after a 14-day series...

Of course, I remain entrenched in Kim Klassen busyness...including a new class in her Test Kitchen... but this week I plunged into a new adventure with a Kat Sloma course called, Sense of Place.

Oh maaaaaan...DEEP!  First week's focus:  Do you photograph as you travel or travel to photograph?

As Winnie the Pooh would say, "Think, think, think..."

But the "committee in my head" believes that it has to be: I travel to photograph!

Now, in past posts, I have written about my Appalachian roots...and while living in Ohio with West Virginian parents, you are hardly aware of anyplace else.  But after my father died in 2009, I longed to find out more about my family tree beyond my grandparents...discovering a five century legacy of Appalachian roots. I realized West Virginia is truly my home...and go their at least three times a year to capture it all.  Not just places...but the taste, feel, smell, people, emotion, the oldness, the heart and soul of its true essence and history.  And of course...at least one WVU Mountaineer football game is always an annual event!

We Train Them Young

Game Day

Gamed Out

Let's Go Mountaineers

And as you can see...the "sense of place" at a Mountaineer game is its people...its fans!

I travel to photograph the idiosyncrasies...another part of the "sense of place"...

Smile...Tho Your Heart is Breaking

Rusted, non-working vehicles in fields...or sometimes on concrete blocks in the front yard...

Prevail

Mountain isolation colliding with the high-tech world...

No Phone, No Lights...but a Satellite Dish Just the Same

It may be a humble abode...but we have our satellite dish!

Hurrying to the IGA

An Appalachian woman scurrying into the IGA...

Hard Living

And the ruggedness of a hard life in the hollers near the Kentucky border...

And of course its sense of history:

The Windows of Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum

Foundry in the Mist

A foundry and repair shop for Shay engines that repaired what pushed the logging cars up steep mountains during the logging industry in the early 20th century...

Window at Harpers Ferry

Civil War era of Harper's Ferry...

And sense of my history...

My Father's One Room Schoolhouse

The one-room schoolhouse my father attended...

Ten Truths

The log cabin built by my 5th great-grandfather, Henry McWhorter.


The little mountain church my father began attending as a baby, where he heard the Word he based his life upon.

A Gift from my Ancestors

And the gift of a migrant scarlet tanager in the trees above my great-great grandparents' grave...

And of course, the sense of place in its breathtaking beauty...almost untouched over time...

Bog in Autumn

The cotton grass of Dolly Sods...

Time for Singing

Abundant fields of wilflowers...

Deer in the Morning Light

White-tailed deer in the mountain mist...

West Virginia's Ceiling

Endless mountaintops...

Top of Blackwater Falls

Tumbling waterfalls from mountain rivers...


Dappled sunlight in the holler known as Thurmond in the late afternoon...

Buckin' Beauty

and unassuming wildlife...

West Virginia Speed Bump

Some known as a West Virginia speedbump...

And yet...I can never capture it all...put it in a box...and bring this sense of place home...

And what my heart hungers for the most is something that cannot be filled...

The longing to touch and embrace those dear to me who are no longer part of this world...

My family...

A sense of place...is it elusive?  No...as I always carry it in my heart!

9 comments:

  1. "Take me home, country road, West Virginia mountain mama. . . . " (or something like that!) Lovely! These are book-worthy words and images, Denise! Thank you for taking me home with you.

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  2. A very touching post with beautiful photos.

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  3. I love when a post takes me somewhere I've never before. Your words and photos did that for me here.

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  4. You tell the story wonderfully in photos and words. Thank you.

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  5. I can truly feel the loving connection you have with your home state. I also checked out your 5 Fact Friday post...what fun! I love family history.

    xoxo

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  6. It seems this place calls to you so deeply, you could never photograph it all. What a gift, to have a place that calls so deeply to your soul!

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  7. Hi, I am visiting your lovely blog and I so enjoyed your post. One can feel the love you have for your home state through your words and beautiful photographs. I look forward to coming again....

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  8. Denise, Your work speaks volumes. So lovely...it makes me want to get out there and "travel to photograph."

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  9. Girlfriend, you are the best thinker and reflector I know. This post was awesome. Your photos fantastic.

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Every comment is read personally by me and is deeply appreciated!