Almost forgot: Atlanta Botanical Garden

Alright, not much thoughts on this one except that it was hot and humid....

No seriously, I thought this is a very well organized place! Definitely worth the $15 if you care to see everything they have to offer. The dude who was with me basically took photos of every flower in the garden.... good for him!





There is something for everyone in this botanical garden. There is the kids park area where they themed it according to animals and bugs as well as fairytales. There's also the tropical green house and orchid garden, as well as outdoor sculptures by the famous futurist -- Henry Moore! So it's both a plant show and an art show. See, $15 was a bargin!













There are also the creatures in the park... they don't seem to give a sh*t about cameras! You can literally put your camera on them and they won't move a bit.... or maybe they are just obsessed to get their photos taken. What bimbos!







Some of the most interesting plants are more like animals. They are those bug-eating ones. There's the ones where they use some kind of beer or rum to lure desperate bugs into them, where they drown and digest their prey with the very beer/rum. Then there are those that clamps down on the prey as they fly into them, like SUPER MARIO WORLD!!!! They have these in a big pot like as if you can just buy a pot home. We were squatting there and poking these little things with a tweak. If I have a pot like this at home, I'd be poking them all day long. They are more addictive than popping bubble wraps!







Well, like I said, there's something for everyone here. Not that I will go back anytime soon, but it was a pleasant surprise to me, and I recommend anyone to pay it a visit!



More photos of creatures and plants here.

After the photo walk - Little Five Points

Little Five Points is like the "must-go" place in Atlanta. I never knew what it is about until this visit.

What's my impression?

A circus.

Oh why so harsh.... again? Well, maybe I am just critical by nature. Little Five Points is basically a neighbourhood where people come here to see and to be seen. People of different sub cultures, like hiphop, hippies, goths, bikers and heavy metal dudes, cute and uncute chicks, homies..... People here seem to really know their place, like this is "their thing". Well, to me, this is just like the Cabbagetown, or a smaller version of a place like Portland. This is just a stage for desperate people to show that they are something. The big question is, where do they go when the curtain sets?



















Well, I guess everyone struggles to find a stage, whether you are Michael Jackson or an office boy trapped in your own cube. To me, this is just another representation of consumerism where cultures are exploit by lost individuals until the point where they can't squeeze any more out of it, then they move on, to another subculture that makes them feel like something again. Me as a photographer and an visitor will always be glad to find places like this. Because it's a place to see and be seen, there's something for everyone.

More photos here.

After the photo walk - Krog St. underpass

My eyes lit when I followed the group and drove through this amazing gallery of contemporary art... I mean, graffiti tunnel. Immediately, ideas on how I want to photograph this place, the lens I will use, compositions, long exposures blah blah just popped one after another in my mind. Before I even parked my car, my mind was already there.



What seems to be a rather ghetto place is actually.... not that ghetto. Maybe it was because it was in broad day light. Maybe it was because I was with a bunch of people. But it says something when pedestrians walk through the tunnel like it's their daily routine. There were people walking their dogs, lady jogger on her run, cyclists and dad walking his son. We were definitely the most out of place guys.













Talking photography wise, I saw opportunities of capturing the light trails from the cars using long exposure. However, there was too much sunlight leaking into the tunnel for long exposures and lot's of photoshop was needed to bring the lightness down. I definitely want to revisit this place at night for some quality long exposures.





A few more photos here if you are interested.

Atlanta Photowalk - Cabbage Town

The second part of the photowalk was a nearby neighbourhood called Cabbage Town. I don't really know much about it, so read it here yourself.



Cabbage town is basically a one-street deal with small cafe, restaurant, tattoo shop, barbor, retro-style grocery store that sells random things... I want to use the word "hippy" but I realize this does injustice to the real hippies. It's basically a bunch of people who wants to live a certain way and show that they want to live a certain way. Just like any other "distinctively-cultural" neighbourhoods, to me, this is nothing more than a gift-wrapped lifestyle that is no different than what your or my lifestyles. Nonetheless, still a few good photo opportunities.



















Well, nothing much to say really. More photos from Cabbagetown here.

Atlanta Photowalk - Oakland Cemetery

Back in January 08, I mentioned about architecture of the dead being a taboo topic to talk about in the traditional Chinese culture (http://cowingaround.blogspot.com/2008/01/architecture-for-dead.html) . Well, seems like the westerners don't mind talking about theirs at all! Actually this isn't surprise to me at all. Cemeteries here are generally well maintained and none of that eerie atmosphere. Of course, one wouldn't just walk in and start taking photos. This time, it was an organized photo walk.



Personally, I am not a fan of taking photos that includes the deceased's names or tombstone for that matter. I don't want to see them as "art" or "artifact". I don't have a reason that I can articulate, but it more like "that's none of my business". I feel like taking a photo of their identity is sort of invading their privacy.... I was looking for something less personal to them, but mean more to me.





There are many interesting architectural elements around the cemetery. I personally have no knowledge about any of them. I am sure there are stories such as trends, styles, reasons to functionality and interesting origins to why they appear the way they are.





Here's one that I don't mind staying in!



I think one of the things about cemeteries is its environmental context. Cemetery, among many other kinds of facilities, is a struggle to have. It is definitely essential to a society, yet no one really want to live near one. Therefore to me, what surrounds it becomes more interesting to me than the cemetery itself.









Ultimately, whatever what exists in this world is meaningless to the deceased. It is our consciousness that defines our perception towards why and how we present an ideology. Why would it matter to the deceased how he or she is buried, burnt, chopped and fed to the vultures or the fish? It only matters to us the living ones. The existence of this cemetery really isn't about the dead, but the very lively people who build it. In a way, this is like a temple or church. It represents memories, values, lessons, guilt, proof, meaning... A cemetery, as much as it is said to be built for the dead, it really for us to pass our culture down to future generations. To me, a cemetery isn't a place where life ends, but where life regenerates.

More photos here if you are still interested to see more dead....