View Obscura

This past Wednesday I spent a good amount of time exploring a section of abandoned buildings along Texas Avenue in downtown Shreveport. One of the buildings that caught my attention when I had driven through the area a week prior was a blue building with an old car inside. Since the buildings that surrounded it were all but abandoned I assumed that this structure was as well. I made it a point to search out this particular location simply because I thought it would be interesting to photograph an old building with a classic car inside. What I failed to notice when I drove by the first time was that C&C Mercantile wasn't an old abandoned store at all, but a flourishing antique store and art studio. It's actually the kind of place that my wife and I used to visit when we lived back in Southern California. It's a establishment where you can find everything from a stuffed bobcat to pink samurai armor and even a pop art portrait of Hugh Hefner. Someplace that is truly uniqu...

 A relationship with Jesus can transform your life from stressed to blessed. These couple of shots were taken well over a month ago as I was leaving for work. A light rain was just beginning to fall on this farm just south of Lecompte and I thought that the clouds with their hues of purple were just to beautiful to pass up. Our family just moved out of Lecompte and I'm going to miss the serenity of living in a small farming town.  Looking at this scene this morning inspired me to reflect a bit on last weeks sermon by our pastor James W. Greer entitles 'The Stressless Life'. Sometimes we just spend way too much time worrying about the events of our lives. As Christians we have the ability to put all of that stuff in hands of Jesus knowing that He will give us peace.  Stress is a fearful concern felt when life's demands appear to be greater than your ability to meet them. Genuine concern is expressed through faith in God. Fearful concern is expressed through self-dependen...

Tonight I was searching for photo to feature that suited my mood today and while pouring through my archives I gravitated to a folder that contained some of my pics from Vegas. I was really happy with a lot of them I envision a mass posting of some the best ones here in the near future. After looking at a few that I thought were really good I settled on this shot of Fremont Street. It's not really artsy or unique, in fact it could just be a typical vacation pic. Ultimately I liked the composition, the colors and the fact that there is a young woman getting a 'tramp stamp' tattoo in the far bottom right of the scene.  That's Vegas for you! Ultimately I think that I chose this pick tonight because I kinda miss being able to drive out to Las Vegas from California on a Friday night like this. Check Out: Portraits Of Sin City - Images of the Las Vegas Strip at Night Photo Of The Day - Thunderbirds - Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada Portraits Of Sin City - The World Famous Las ...

 Today I drove through downtown Baton Rouge and I spotted this Canadian National freight train sitting idle along the banks of the Mississippi River. Being a train geek I couldn't resist pulling over and taking a few photos. I feel like I was able to get some interesting perspectives and angles due to the fact that it was up on the raised levy along the river.  Let me know which one of these photos is your favorite in the comments below.  Note: These two young ladies walked down the tracks right in front of the train. Luckily for them it was sitting idle. Let me say this bluntly - DON'T EVER DO THIS! I have to admit that it provided me the opportunity to get a rather poignant photograph. If you didn't know the context you would assume that the train was in motion and those two women were about to be run over.  Check Out: The Needlessly Sad Fate of Southern Pacific Railroad Steam Locomotive #743 Meridian Lumber Company 2-6-0 Steam Locomotive #202 A Visual History Cali...

Last September I spent some time walking around downtown Shreveport taking photos . One of the areas that I found most interesting centered around a group of abandoned buildings on Texas Avenue. Today I traveled further down that road and I discovered an all but forgotten and mostly abandoned part of the city.  If you cross over the Red River from Bossier City on old Highway 79 you will find yourself on Texas Street in the busy section of downtown Shreveport. If you take that street through downtown you will eventually find yourself smack dab in front of the majestic First United Methodist Church with the option of turning left or right on Common. You will need to take a left and then an immediate jog to the right and you will now find yourself on Texas Avenue. This is when the landscape quickly changes from preserved historical buildings to an area that is mostly forgotten and abandoned. It is very apparent that at one time this section of old Highway 79 (Texas Ave) was a very pro...