Category: Gallery and Web Site Updates

Web site and gallery updates here on gileshoover.com.

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Updated Gallery: Columbus, Georgia

Gerald and I were in Columbus, Georgia, today, which included a delicious lunch at The Black Cow — no word whether the name is related to the Steely Dan song — and which meant a few photographs:

United States Post Office and Court House (Eagle Detail), Columbus, Georgia

One of several of the Post Office and Court House (the header photograph is that building, too), along with a few others from downtown:

Lamp and Buildings, Downtown Columbus, Georgia
Arches, Planes, and Sky, Downtown Columbus, Georgia
Tower and Spire, Downtown Columbus, Georgia

Columbus is really well covered in its dedicated gallery: check it out. The majority of today’s photographs, however, were from the Columbus Museum; those will be posted Monday. Stay tuned.

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Updated Gallery: Sarasota – Ringling Museum

The Ringling Museum in Sarasota, Florida has been a place I’ve been taking photographs since I lived in the area, almost twenty years ago now — and a place where I continue to enjoy taking photographs whenever possible.

The grounds have these amazing banyan trees, with root systems larger than many houses:

Banyan (black and white, detail)

They’ve expanded over the years, adding buildings, a new entrance, and additions. This is the Chao Center for Asian Art:

Chao Center’s Asian Art Siding #3 (Detail)

The old Ca d’Zan gate is the new main entrance:

Ca d’Zan Lion

And, of course, the whole compound is right on Sarasota Bay:

Ringling’s Bayfront

Take a virtual stroll through the Ringling grounds with 24 new photographs, along with many more over the years, and a few extra photographs from Sarasota proper. Enjoy.

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Updated Gallery: Franklin Delano Roosevelt State Park, Pine Mountain

As I mentioned yesterday, Gerald and I enjoyed a lovely first-of-spring drive out of middle Georgia. Our destination was Pine Mountain, home of F. D. Roosevelt State Park. Needless to say, there were cameras involved.

Starting on Dowdell Knob, FDR’s favorite picnic spot — with its amazing valley overlook:

Roosevelt’s Grill With a View, Dowdell Knob

Next was the park’s office and overlook complex:

FDR State Park Office (B&W Study), Pine Mountain
Stone, Shutters, and Stars and Stripes
FDR State Park Overlook: Rocks

Peruse the entire gallery here. And when you have some extra time, all of FDR State Park is worth a visit; it’s got everything from hiking trails to cabins to the Callaway Gardens Country Kitchen in its 9049 acres. Enjoy!

Bonus: Georgia Public Broadcasting, at the premier of its film A President in Our Midst: Franklin Delano Roosevelt in Georgia, said:

Franklin Delano Roosevelt had a very special relationship with the State of Georgia. This compelling documentary spotlights the mutual benefits that the friendship provided to both the president and the people of Georgia. The film is based on the book, A President in Our Midst: Franklin Delano Roosevelt in Georgia.

It’s no Ken Burns, certainly, but if you’re not familiar with FDR’s extensive time spent in west Georgia, it might be worth your time. See it here.

Bonus gallery: Callaway Gardens, from 2008.

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New and Updated Galleries: Woodland, Thomaston, and Yatesville

The end of winter here in Georgia means beautifully warm days, flowers and trees budding, and photography. Gerald and I took a road trip this weekend, enjoying almost 200 miles of driving — and four photostrolls.

We’ll cover three today, heading west from Middle Georgia:

Yatesville Peach Blossoms #1

See everything from Yatesville, pop. 408, here.

Next is an update from Thomaston, whose downtown square is typical of Georgia:

Upson County Courthouse (B&W Study #2), 2022

That gallery is available here.

Lastly today is a new stop: Woodland, in west-central Georgia, near Pine Mountain and Warm Springs, northeast of Columbus.

Woodland Antiques
Postal Angel (Awning to be Free)

Woodland, whose population also happens to be 408, has a gallery here.

Many thanks to Gerald for the company and good day. Next up: FDR State Park, likely tomorrow.

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New Gallery: Jackson, Georgia

This past weekend’s road trip included five stops, including Monticello and Barnesville, which I covered in the last post. However, there were three more stops in the middle.

Jackson Dam, which forms the headwaters of the Ocmulgee River — and which has a fishing area with this neat scene:

Walk and Deck, Jackson Dam

Jackson Lake, formed by the Yellow, Alcovy, and South Rivers:

Jackson Lake (Wideangle)

And Jackson proper, which has a traditional (for Georgia, at least) town square with a courthouse:

Butts County Courthouse #5, Jackson

Also, this — with perhaps too cute a title:

Downtown Door During Reconstruction, Jackson

All of these have been added to a new gallery. Check it out.

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Monticello and Barnesville Galleries Updated

February has been beautiful here in Georgia, with spring just beginning to show — which means the Leica and I are out and about again.

Let’s start in Monticello. (Although named for Jefferson’s estate of the same name, it’s actually pronounced “Monti-sello.”) The tractor’s still there:

Monticello Tractor (Pinhole)

And my chase of architectural details continues anew:

Cornice and Corbel, Collected

More to see in the updated gallery. (A reminder: once there, click on any photo to start a slideshow.)

Next, Barnesville:

Red Southern Caboose Against Blue Sky

Across Main Street is this:

Whitewalls of Thine Increase

Enjoy that updated gallery, too.

Bonus Update: Gave the 235 some exercise, too — which means a couple of photographs.

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New Website. Finally.

Housekeeping news: I went back to having an actual website in June, 2019; for a few years, I’d just used a photography hosting service, as photography was the vast majority of what I did. However, when book design again became an important-enough part of my work, I wanted to have a space to talk about it. I bought a WordPress template, added photographs, and posted it.

…But I never really liked it. From the beginning, I felt y’all deserved more: better typography, better photography, better everything. Like so many, however, one’s own stuff is always at the bottom of the to-do list. No longer.

I’d like to introduce the new version:

The new gileshoover.com, January, 2022

There were a few bumps getting here (naturally, I broke everything along the way; to say I don’t code is an understatement!), but with some tweaking notwithstanding, the new gileshoover.com is live. It’s got all-original photography, matched sans and serif font superfamily (Merriweather by Sorkin Type, a Google Font), much faster response time, open-source foundations, and so on.

Note that entries on Foreword are best seen individually, as you’ll see bigger photographs (or illustrations, graphics, etc.). Click on entry titles to get there.

Please explore.

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Maine Galleries Updated

Ogunquit Wideangle

After being unable to visit in 2020, the regular trip to Maine resumed in 2021:

Cape Neddick Harbor (Lobster Pound)
Cape Neddick Harbor (Lobster Pound)

Not too many updates, but some good items have been added:

Cape Neddick Country Club
Coastal Golf Tracks and Trees
Steps to the Beach
Safety Rope, Beach Footprints, Ocean

Let’s not forget the parts that make up the big picture, either:

Maine details
Details, Spruced Up

That clear, September sky, the beginnings of fall, the sea: all are represented in the many Maine galleries. And while Maine Revisited may be sold out, the individual photographs — and many more — are still available as prints, framed or unframed, for your favorite living space. Thanks for your support!

Maine Revisited
The book is sold out — but the photographs are still available
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New Gallery: Vassar College

Vassar featured image

Many, many moons ago, my late sister attended Vassar College. I had an occasion to stay in Poughkeepsie, NY, where Vassar is located, and went over on a beautiful morning and spent some time wandering around with the Leica.

Chapel Hall, Vassar
Film, Vassar

It’s a beautiful campus; a mix of modern, mid-century, and classic architecture — with a little mid-century thrown in:

Architecture mix, Vassar

For many years, Vassar was a women’s (-only) college, and it was nice to find the National Landmark observatory building — a reminder that even in the 1800’s, women were doing scientific research:

Vassar Observatory

The New England building:

New England Building, Vassar

An enjoyable visit, a beautiful, incredibly well-tended campus, and a tranquil late summer morning at a renowned college. I was delighted to visit, and pleased with the resulting photographs. See the rest here.

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New Gallery: Bristol, VA/TN

Bristol VA header image

“Twice the city, twice the fun,” Bristol’s tourism web site says. While some might talk extensively about the Bristol Motor Speedway and its associated draws, I was only there to spend some time on the way to and from Maine. Using the superb Bristol Hotel as a base, I not only enjoyed the Blackbird Bakery and the Bristol Bagel & Bakery (no web site, alas) — both a great way to start a day — but also the excellent Vivian’s Table for dinner. That’s only the food; plenty more I didn’t get to, as well. Nice all around.

There were opportunities to take some photographs, too:

Downtown @ night

State Street downtown straddles the state line, meaning that this guy was in Virginia:

Metal street art (VA)

While this corner, two blocks down on the same street, is actually in Tennessee:

Architectural styles juxtaposed

And here’s the best of both worlds: foreground in one state (TN) while background in another (VA):

Two state photography

Bristol was a pleasant surprise; will definitely return when the opportunity presents itself. In the meantime, enjoy a virtual visit with the new photography gallery.

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Beautifully Briefed, July/August 2021

It’s been a busy summer here in Middle Georgia; after regular updates to Foreword for several months, things have slowed down a little. Thus, some good items have piled up.

Starting with a book design I really like:

NPR describes it as, “A Monk And A Robot Meet In A Forest … And Talk Philosophy.” Interesting description, interesting design. I’d pick it up off a shelf.

Speaking of bookshelves, a notable quote from Andy Hunter, of Bookshop.org:

Take a look at this graph. The blue is Amazon’s share of book sales in the past six years. The orange is where we are headed if their average growth rate (8%) continues. If nothing slows their momentum, Amazon will control nearly 80% of the consumer book market by the end of 2025. Every single book lover should worry. After we’re done worrying, we must change the way we buy books.

The graph:

I’m not a fan of Medium — Andy, please choose a better place to post your very valid point — but it’s worth reading. Then change your book-buying habits if possible!

Also from the book category, check out Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill’s latest book of built work 2009-2019. Tons of great work here, but one example might tower over the others:

Great photography, too. designboom has more, in their famous all-lower-case style.

While we’re talking about great photographs of New York City, check this out — complete with 1WTC in the background:

A winner from the recent 2021 iPhone Photography Awards, which I enjoyed … until I found out it’s just another contest, complete with entry fee. (Hey, at least they don’t reassign copyright.)

While we’re at the intersection of photography and architecture, these shots of modern churches across Europe are stunningly beautiful:

From the nearby intersection of photography and illustration:

The whole series is great, great stuff, and has very deservingly been used by the likes of Apple, The New Yorker, and more. Read on.

Last and almost certainly least, I’ve updated the Musella gallery:

Check that gallery out, look at the Middle Georgia collection, or peruse all my Georgia photographs on the road to purchasing a print or getting in touch to let me know you’d like to use something in a book or design project. Thank you.

On to September!

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Macon Downtown Gallery Updated

Macon TT Downtown Aged

Took the TTArtisans 50mm ƒ1.2 for a brief stroll today after lunch with Gerald. Gotta say: this thing is fun:

Macon Downtown TT Sign

Note how the sign is into the bokeh practically before you’re through the sign’s second letter. This, too:

Macon TT Downtown

Does it begin to challenge Leica, or even Voigtlander? Certainly not — it’s a $98 (!) Chinese manual-focus crop lens shunned by almost all “real” Leica shooters. But for this short-depth-of-field fan, it’s worth the embracing the flaws. The updates are at the bottom of the page, marked, “Macon-Downtown_June-2021-x.” Enjoy.

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Mercer University Gallery Updated

Memorial Day weekend brought what is likely the last of the spring-like weather to Middle Georgia, and while it lasted, I was out with the camera. This time, the beautiful, historic Mercer University campus here in Macon:

That building is from the 1800’s. The bear — and the building in the background — are not:

Had my black-and-white “classic camera” filters handy, too (same building in the background, FYI):

Mercer2021-3

Thirty new photographs join the Mercer University gallery. Peruse, purchase, or just enjoy.