Ghost Towns in Kentucky Vol. 1

Over the past couple of weeks, I have been increasingly interested in the subject of Ghost Towns in Kentucky.  It is weird to think that towns / communities that were once vibrant areas are no longer existent today.  According to Wikipedia, ghost towns are defined as "an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, or war. The term is sometimes used to refer to cities, towns, and neighborhoods which are still populated, but significantly less so than in years past."  One of the more famous ghost towns in the United States is Tombstone, AZ. 

In Kentucky, there are a handful of communities that meet this definition.  Since reading about the various ghost towns in Kentucky, I have been interested in visiting these once flourishing communities.  Wikipedia lists the following as ghost towns: Barthell, Blue Heron, Burgess Station, Creelsboro, Fudge, Golden Pond, Neal, Packard, Paradise, and Scuffletown.  Other towns from different sites include the communities of Lawton, Highland Park, Rocky Hill, and Columbus.  I would also throw into the mix the community of Birmingham and Neon (from what I have been told).  The history of these communities have fascinated me. What is even better...many of these communities are located within hours drive of most places in Kentucky.  :).  Tonight, I am sharing a few that I have came upon during my travels.  I am not going to dive into the history of each place, but hopefully my pictures will create an interest for you to look into ghost towns.

Barthell, located in McCreary County, was an old coal mining town.  There is a charge to take a tour of the area due to it being owned by a private family.

Blue Heron, located in McCreary County, was an old coal mining town.  Free public touring is available at this site.

Lawton, located in Carter County, rose to fame with the Mushroom Mines.

(Shakertown - Logan County)

(Pleasant Hill - Mercer County)

1000 Word Pictures

Tonight's post is a little different than the other post that I have done in the past.  Normally, I will upload pictures of various nature scenes, interesting pictures along my travels, or cool pictures that I have taken as I am continuing to learn the different aspects of my camera.  In the past, I have felt uncomfortable taking pictures of people.  I am trying to become used to taking pictures of people.  I will have to give special thanks to my family, friends, and girlfriend that have allowed me to practice taking pictures of them.

The pictures within this post were taken at the St. Matthew's Community Day Festival in Louisville. Why the title 1000 Word Pictures?  Well...I will leave that up to you as the viewer.  As always, thanks for viewing my blog, commenting on my pictures, giving constructive criticism / pointers, and encouraging me to continue practicing my hobby.

Night Pictures - Franklin KY Vol. 2

Good evening to everyone.  Home is where the heart is and so tonight I share with you some night pictures that I took over the Memorial Day weekend while in Franklin.  The first three pictures were taken on Spraypaint Road (actually called Kummer Road).  For Franklin natives, Spraypaint Road is dear to Franklin as much as the Goodnight Auditorium or Octagon Hall.  For outsiders, it is merely a road in Southwest Simpson County that is about 2 miles long (from Springfield Road to Schweitzer Road) that is spray painted.  The lure?  Well...the lure is all of the stories that this road tells in writing and the stories that have occurred of people on this road (the unwritten stories).  Earlier in the year, I wrote a blog about this same site.

The first picture is of a tree along the road.  What I like most about this picture is that you can see the spray paint of the road (look at the bottom of the picture). In another picture I took of the perspective shows the light of the lightening bugs and a shooting star in the background, but it was told to me that those minor details would take away from the overall feel of the picture.

The second picture is not one of the best pictures that I took on Spraypaint Road, but it is an interesting picture.  I used a 1 minute exposure time, but as I started taking the picture a car passed.  So thinking that it was a messed up shot, I ended the exposure about 15 seconds after the car passed.  What occurred was a picture where the tree is lit up by the headlights of the vehicle and a background where you can see the stars as a result of the exposure time.  BTW, this was one of two cars that passed by the entire two hours while I was out on Spraypaint Road.

The third picture focuses on the little dipper via an angle of a tree.  If I had waited until about 1AM CST, I probably could have gotten an angle similar to the second picture with the dipper behind it.

The fourth picture was taken on Saturday Night out at Loving Chapel Baptist Church.  The picture is of a field to the side of the church.  What made this night very fun was that my nephew went out with me to take pictures.  It was fun explaining to him the concept of long exposures and the use of light in pictures.  It was also fun spending time with him as well.  Makes me realize how much I miss my family and how much I am missing out on being a part of their lives. 

The fifth picture is of Loving Chapel Baptist Church from the drive leading to the church.  Although the picture is over-exposed on the side (due to a light pole nearby), I feel that it still provides a good perspective of the church.  

This last picture is of the church as well.  As with the previous picture, I feel that the picture is borderline overexposed.  I do hope that at some point I can have the opportunity to go back out to Chapel and attempt these pictures again.  I would love to tinker with the color on the picture and adjust exposure times...but for now...here we go. 

Small Town Gas Stations / Stores

Good evening to everyone.  Tonight, I will continue with the running theme of Small Towns.  The focus of these pictures are of Gas Stations and Stores.  Why?  Well...why not?  Nah, to be honest, I thought of this theme because of the first picture tonight.  The Little Sack Grocery Store is near the Boonesborough Exit off of I-75.  I have passed this grocery store numerous of times as I have made various adventures on I-75.  The name itself is interesting (if you want to think of it in a twisted manner), but the picture itself takes you back to a time where small grocery stores and gas stations thrived on roads that were highly traveled or areas in communities where there was a need for services.  Given the economy, decrease in business, and other factors...we can potentially see some of these stores / gas stations that have been a permanent fixture in their respective communities cease to exist.

The second picture was taken in the community of Gold City in Simpson County, KY.  From an editing standpoint, I took the picture originally in color, but felt that there was something missing.  Therefore, I put the background in black and white and left the sign in its original color.

The third picture was taken in Fleming County, KY off of Highway 11.  This Grocery Store is located where the old road meets up with the new road.

The fourth picture was taken outside of Corbin, KY on Highway 25W.  The Brown Cow is similar to a Dairy Freeze.

 The fifth picture was taken in Railton, KY in Barren County.  I felt that this picture provides a feeling of an old general store for a small crossroads community.  This picture was taken using my Kodak Easy Share.

The last picture was taken from inside of Robert's Grocery in Sharpsburg, KY (Bath County).  Oh my my...what a story with this one.  Let's just say...it was an awesome day and experience that ended with three brothas in the back and a white lady with some hooch.  When we went on this day, they were finishing up their local Community Festival, which brought in many people into this small community.  I am adding this picture to tonight's blog because I feel that it provides an inside look into a small town grocery store that is a staple in a community, especially when the nearest Wal-Mart is 30 minutes away.  Do note the Ale-8-One in the background (Good Ole' Eastern Kentucky).  The fun thing about going to these small communities are the stories surrounding many off these pictures and trust me...there are stories.





Raining Cats and Dogs

With all of the rain here lately, I decided to name tonight's post "Raining Cats and Dogs."  I used a 55mm-300mm lens when capturing these pictures.  While on the road (personally and professionally), I love to enjoy a beautiful day whether it is taking a few moments on a trip home or taking pictures when at my destination(s).  For today's picture, it was the latter.  I hope that you enjoy them....

Small Town Post Offices

Good evening to all.   Tonight's blog has been long in the making.  While on my KY 120 tour, I have been fascinated by all of the small towns along the way.  If it is from Monkey's Eyebrow to Farmers to Happy to Marrowbone...there is something special about these small communities.  At the heart of these communities are churches, schools (if applicable), and post offices.  Over the recent year, there have been numerous of rumors that the Postal Service would be closing down thousands of small town post offices as a cost-saving measure due to the economy and the decrease of business attributable to the growth of cyberspace over the past decade.  Although I am not sure that any of these post offices pictured in today's blog are those that will could be facing closure, I still want to share what may become in about 10-20 years a lost industry.

Alpha, Kentucky (Clinton County)

Woodburn, Kentucky (Warren County)

Bandana, Kentucky (Ballard County)

Four Mile, Kentucky (Bell County)

Emlyn, Kentucky (Whitley County)

Lily, Kentucky (Laurel County)

Fairview, Kentucky (Todd / Christian Counties)

Happy, Kentucky (Perry County)

He Gotta Big Lens!!!

Good evening to all.  I recently purchased a 55mm-300mm lens and took it this past weekend to shoot it.  The weather was not really the best for taking pictures, but there were a few opportunities between storms to get some shots.  The first picture was taken at Indian Mountain State Park in Jellico, TN.  The two birds were mating....literally.  The picture (one of many that I took) shows the bird flying away from being atop of the sign.

I have grown to think that Wood Creek Lake is my Walden.  Wood Creek Lake is located in Laurel County.  I have recently posted pictures from the lake on the blog, but all of the pictures have a different feel (if it is from ice / snow on the lake or night picture on the lake).  The picture below was taken off of Lake Road from Highway 25.

The third picture was taken at Indian Mountain State Park.

The fourth picture was taken on Route 3094 in Laurel County.  

The last picture was taken on a private dock at Wood Creek Lake in Laurel County, Kentucky.  The interesting thing about this picture is that it was taken between storms on last Saturday.  This picture was taken using a 18mm-55mm lens.  I liked it so much that I wanted to include with the other pictures.