Johnston County seat Smithfield is chock-ful of history, churches

I had two rather involved shoots within a couple days' time span earlier this month, and rather than process pictures from one of the shoots and then do a post about it before moving on to the next, I decided to do all the processing for both shoots first. Then do the posts for each afterward.

Today's post is about the first of those shoots, which involved a visit on Feb. 17 to Smithfield, the seat of Johnston County, which is adjacent to (and east of) Wake County, where I live. One of these days, I might get smart and make a point to learn more about a place before I visit it for picture-taking. Alas, that day wasn't Feb. 17.

After my visit, and the curiosity I developed from my stroll in Smithfield, I sent for some promotional literature about the town and Johnston County. And after perusing it all, I wished I'd have had some of that knowledge before making the trip. On the plus side, the literature will help me explain a little about some of the pictures I took.

The town got its name from the fact that Smith's Ferry operated along the Neuse River, which flows through the northern portion of the downtown. One of the last battles of the Civil War was fought in Bentonville in southern Johnston County, 12 miles or so south of Smithfield. That battle, in March 1865, actually was the last between Union Gen. William T. Sherman and Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston (the county was not named for him; it was named for Gabriel Johnston, royal governor of North Carolina from 1734 to 1752 ).

Fast-forwarding to more contemporary times, Smithfield is home to the Ava Gardner Museum. Gardner, an actress and singer, was born in 1922 seven miles east of Smithfield. Of the many films she starred in, she was nominated for an Oscar once -- for best actress in Mogambo in 1953. She was married three times, and all ended in divorce. The first two -- to actor Mickey Rooney and then to musician and big band leader Artie Shaw -- lasted a year each and occurred in the 1940s. Her third and last was to Frank Sinatra, whom she considered the love of her life. Their union lasted from 1951 to 1956.

Gardner died in 1990 and is buried in Sunset Memorial Garden, a cemetery at the split of two major thoroughfares northwest of town -- business U.S. 70 and NC 210. Technically, it is in an area designated as West Smithfield.

I did get some exterior shots of the Gardner museum, which is part of the downtown landscape. Two of those photos appear below. But I didn't have the time to go inside the museum this time (admission is $12, and there is an Ava Gardner Festival every June). And while I didn't stop to roam through Sunset cemetery, I did spend time in a downtown area cemetery, Riverside, that I came across on my walk-around.

Smithfield is also home to an annual summer Ham and Yam Festival; Johnston County has a major hog production reputation in the state, and I presume the festival is a celebration of that fact. As you might expect, it also is where you'll find the source of a good number of nuisance lawsuits originating from the offensive odor of hog manure. But I digress ...

The downtown area has five churches in close proximity that I managed to reach. The photo leading off the post is a shot of the exterior of one of those, First Presbyterian. I wouldn't normally lead a post profiling a community with a picture of a church, but I liked this particular composition, so I decided to be a little different. There a few other churches not too much farther out from where I roamed that I did not reach this time.

I enjoyed my visit and would not mind going back to chase after other pictures now that I know more about the community. I also would like to visit the Bentonville battlefield site, which I'm told has a driving tour available (a battlefield drive tour is a feature I became acquainted with a couple years ago when Lee Ann and I visited the Yorktown battlefield in Virginia). You'll find that the link above to the Ham and Yam Festival mentions something about a re-enactment of the Bentonville Battle coming up in the middle of March. It is being held on the 155th anniversary of the battle.

As usual, to view a larger, sharper version of a photo, simply click on it. This is particularly helpful if you access the blog using a mobile device. To see a full gallery of photos from my shoot there (including the churches), click on the link in this sentence.

Photo geek stuff: This should be no surprise to regular visitors. I used my Canon 6D and Tamron 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di VC PZD lens for the shoot, grabbing three exposures of each composition that I later melded into one using Photomatix software during post-processing.

The front (above) and back (below) of Neuse Little Theatre, which is home to the local community theater group. The building is not far from the Neuse River. In the bottom photo, the river is just left of the riverwalk snaking on the far left of the photo. I came upon the two sides of the structure at opposite ends of my walk-around. The shot above I came up early on; the one below was one of the last. 

A better shot of the Neuse in this overlook of the riverwalk taken from the bridge on Market Street, one of the town's main thoroughfares.

The front of the Ava Gardner Museum (above) and, behind the pickup truck, a closer look (below) at the exterior to the right of the main door). 

Above, a look at the west facade of the Johnston County Courthouse along Second Street, where to the right of the original structure you see the glass transition to a newer, less architecturally inspired courthouse extension (first below). A closer look at this facade appears in the second photo below followed by a photo of the skylights inside the glass transition area. I did go inside the original courthouse hoping to find a cool rotunda and ceiling, but alas ... there was none. The full gallery includes a few photos of the front facade facing Market Street.

Above and below: Two of the more striking, older structures in the downtown area. Both area long Market Street. 

Town Hall fits into the downtown landscape (above), as does a mural (below) on the side of Evans Jewelers at 320 E. Market St. 

Above: Adjacent to Town Hall is the appropriately named Town Hall Park, a modest green space dedicated in 2004.

On South Front Street, just north of Riverside Cemetery, one encounters the Primitive Baptist Church (above) and the historic Hastings House (below), which are next-door neighbors. The Greek Revival Hastings House, which dates to circa 1839, served as headquarters for Confederate Gens. Joseph Johnston, Wade Hampton and Braxton Bragg for the Battle of Bentonville ... and was used by Union Gen. William Sherman after the battle. Today it is maintained by the Downtown Smithfield Development and is the central location for the annual Ham and Yam Festival the first weekend in May.
  

Above: The oldest bar in Smithfield is the Little Brown Jug. The establishment, which overlooks the the town's riverwalk along the Neuse, has a history of its location at its website. 

The first structure that caught my attention as I drove into town on Market Street was the main entrance to Centenary United Methodist Church (above and next three photos) and its striking blue dome. The third photo below actually is the look on the church complex's back side, reflecting construction of at least one addition over the years. 

The expansive campus of First Baptist Church features the primary entrance and facade (first photo below) and the adjoining chapel (above). The plaque (second photo below) tells the story of the church bell (third photo below).  

Above: This elegant structure houses the accountant offices of Dees, Jackson and Jackson on South 3rd Street, just across the street from the Presbyterian church depicted in the lead-off photo. 

The rig above was parked on South 3rd Street between the Presbyterian Church and the accountants' offices above when I arrived. The driver had just carted away a dolly of cargo toward the buyer's location behind me. In the first two photos below are another view of the Presbyterian church and a closeup of its bell.  

Above and three photos below: Just a block west of the Presbyterian church on Church Street is St. Paul's Episcopal Church. The area on the other side of the big-stone wall appeared to be a church cemetery since it was in the same block as the church. But I could be sure; directly across the street -- both west and south of the church -- sits Riverside Cemetery.    

Next up: Riverside Cemetery and Buffalo Creek Greenway

Atlanta church on road with unusual name

In the upscale Buckhead Neighborhood of Atlanta, on a peculiarly named street surrounded by high-rise commercial buildings and condominium structures, sits Wieuca Road Baptist Church.

The church's steeple reaches high into the sky, so I knew it was there well before I actually reached it. While it is, indeed, tall, it pales next to many of the skyscrapers in the neighborhood. It sits almost right next door to the BB&T building (see yesterday's post). And as I approached the church from Peachtree Road, I could see the steeple's reflection on BB&T's shiny facade.

The reflection changed by the time I finished shooting and headed back to my car. In that instance, I saw the Park Avenue Condominium building reflected on the bank (see photo below). Of course, angle makes a difference. Approaching the BB&T from the right, you'll see the church steeple reflection, but I didn't grab a picture of that. 

The photo leading off the post is a juxtaposition of the church and bank building, and from this perspective ... not only does the church look taller than the bank building (it isn't), but you also see no reflection at all on the bank's facade.

But I digress. By far my favorite shots of the church, were my four tight crops --- three cross sections of the main entrance and Roman columns and a closeup of fellowship hall -- presented in succession immediately below. There is a lot to be said about compositions that introduce drama into striking architecture. It gives one reason to ponder the sundry elements of angles, patterns, balance and the "what if" involved with that which is absent in the cut sections.

I spent some time hunting around for the origin of the unusual name of the road (Wieuca). I had to look hard; there isn't much out there. But I did find a page at a Buckhead Neighborhood history page in which a neighborhood resident claims he was told one of the real estate developers came up with Wieuca from combining the first two letters of his three daughters' names -- Wilma, Eugenia and Cathern (sic). An online pronunciation aid says it's pronounced: why-YOO-kuh.

As always, to view a larger, sharper version of an image, simply click on the photo. This is particularly helpful when accessing the blog from a mobile device. To view a gallery of all the pictures I took at Wieuca Road Baptist Church, click on the link in this sentence.

Above: I learned that the church recently welcomed a new pastor. 

Above: The chapel from the opposite side of Wieuca Road. 

Above and below are a couple of normal perspective shots of the church, one from the right side, the other from almost straight on. 

A protective covering outside the door of the church offices (above) and a look down a horshoe-shaped access drive into the church grounds (below). The road you see turns left at the very back (where the car sits) and curls around back to the front off to the left, where the parking lot is situated. 

The activities center (above), which is close to the parking lot. Below is the church's sign as seen from the road. 

Exploring Buckhead on brief Atlanta trip

Before Tuesday of this week, I hadn't been in Atlanta for 42 years. I don't remember a whole lot from that visit; it was a brief stop en route to Orlando from the Midwest, but I did take a quick tour of the Underground Atlanta mall.

This week, the mission was to get Lee Ann's daughter Lea to the offices of the Consulate General of Japan in the upscale Buckhead Neighborhood on Atlanta's Northside. The neighborhood is loaded with strikingly tall buildings, distinct architecture and very tony shops sprinkled among several chic malls.

Buckhead also is Atlanta's third largest commercial center (behind downtown and midtown) and is considered the banking center of the Southeast. Indeed, I saw towers of at least two financial institutions -- JPMorgan Chase and Branch Banking and Trust (BB&T, which recently merged with SunTrust to form Truist Financial) in the modest four block area that I roamed.

The afternoon was very overcast and rich in thick clouds; we encountered a little light rain on the drive home. That's why you see the skies the way they appear here. 

The shiny Phipps Tower -- a small slice of which leads off the post, and a full view immediately above -- is where the Japanese Consulate General is located in Atlanta, and it's where Lea's interview took place. It is right next to Phipps Plaza, one of the aforementioned shopping malls in the immediate proximity. It's two anchors -- on opposite ends -- are Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom (pictured immediately below). Phipps Plaza is kitty corner from Lenox Square. I spent about an hour in this area shooting images you see in this post.

Not far from the entrance to Phipps Tower is the JPMorgan Chase building (first photo below), where a trio of window washers was at work (second below).

Probably the most distinguished building in the area where I strolled was the Ajilon (first three photos below). I was particularly drawn by that curved top. I photographed it from several angles, and composed shots of it solo and with a couple nearby buildings. When I got home after the trip, I hunted around for a good half-hour or so to hopefully explain the functionality of the curved top portion of the structure ... to no avail.

As always, to view a larger and sharper version of a photo, click on the image. This is particularly helpful when accessing the blog from a mobile device. To view a gallery of all my shots in Atlanta from Tuesday, follow the link in this sentence. 

 

The shot above looks south from Phipps Tower. I don't know Atlanta well enough to know for sure what each building is ni this composition, although I'm pretty sure the structure peeking into the frame on the far right is the JPMorgan Chase building.

Again, because of my unfamiliarity with the Atlanta skyline, I'm not positive of the structure above, captured with my iPhone 11. I believe it's the Monarch Building. The one below, taken with my Canon 6D, is the Marsh Mercer Building. 

The images above and below are from the Whitley, which is described online as a Marriott "collective luxury hotel." I have no idea what a "collective" hotel is. I will say the getting the angle of the shot above is a nice benefit of the wide end of the 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Tamron lens I was using. 

Above: One of two bench shots I grabbed during my walk. Never had one with an arm rest in the middle like this before. 

Above: Even the Dick's Sporting Goods store in Buckhead looked dignified.

Above: The BB&T building looked daunting, and the skies looked ominous.  

This tall, skinny structure is called Park Avenue Condominium. Park Avenue is a very short and narrow access road off Wieuca Road leading to the condos and strikes me as something was dubbed with such a familiar moniker to upscale its appeal. 

At Peachtree and Roxboro roads, this Jos. A. Bank meanswear store anchors a modest commercial center.

Next: Wieuca Road Baptist Church

Afternoon visit from deer in the 'hood

In previous posts here, I think I've alluded to how my new home in Raleigh is situated in a modest rural neighborhood and, most importantly, flanked on two of its sides by wooded areas. So it is not uncommon Lee Ann and I will observe out yard (and, gulp, garages) visited by an assortment of creatures.

There are some of the most obvious -- squirrels, for instance. But we have also come across toads, frogs, snakes, opossum, rabbits, cardinals, hawks, a few stray cats and deer.

Of the latter group, we see hawks and deer most often. The deer, especially, get bold enough to come onto our property to forage when temperature plummet, even though by now they must know there are humans in the house (or at least near the house) on the property. We've unintentionally scared them off from grazing on our grass or bushes when we'd open a door to go outside. Of course, we wouldn't know they had been there until the door is open and we step foot outdoors.

Most of the time, the deer don't visit until very early morning -- dawn -- or late in the afternoon, as it gets dark. But earlier this week, two deer really got bold and elected to graze in our backyard during the middle of the day. So I grabbed my phone camera (and later, my Canon 6D) and shot away through door windows in our living room. These pictures show the deer near the stairs on our deck, along the fence we put up to protect our raised garden beds (to protect against these deer and rabbits, to be precise), in front our puppy memorial garden and next to the modest playground area we developed for the grandchildren to enjoy when they visit.

Most of the time, the deer were foraging; those didn't seem like very interesting pictures. So I present those when they attention was diverted by sound and/or movement. Most of the movements were probably me they might have detected on the other side of the window. But at one of these "at attention" photos -- the two of them near the fence -- was in reaction to a car starting in a neighbor's yard. They spent a good minute or so fixing their gaze in that direction before being satisfied they could return to grazing.

As always, if you want to pull up a larger and sharper version of an image, simply click on the image. This is particularly helpful if you access the blog using a mobile device. If you want to see the full gallery of images and a short video clip, click on the link in this sentence. 

Stretching iPhone 11's focal range beyond the camera's default setting

As most photographers know, a phone camera comes in very handy when you find yourself without your regular gear. And if you have a quality phone camera, which is what you have in the iPhone 11, it's also handy when you need a shot pronto ... and/or just don't feel like stopping to mess with preparing a camera, lens and settings.

I didn't have my gear with me yesterday when I took a stroll through Preston Ponds Park, a modest neighborhood green space in the Preston area of western Cary. The park has a pond equipped with a fountain and a habitat that includes turtles.

So I turned to the iPhone, and these are a few of the dozen or so shots I took during my visit. This time, I didn't see any turtles, so I just used the phone for a few landscape shots.

One of the 11's features is to allow you to stretch the focal range beyond the default parameters, which I've already used on quite a few occasions since getting the phone last month. The photos leading off the post and the one immediately below are good examples. I'm not sure I would have been able to fit the entire pond in a composition this close to the water even with my Canon 24-70mm.

The stone pathway along the pond (second photo below) is new since I was there last; the whole area you see in that photo had been simply mulch. The pond waters were so still, I grabbed several reflection shots (also below). Along the park's perimeter flanking Creek Park Drive are several holly bushes, and as the photos near the bottom depict, they were display some bright red berries.