So today my boyfriend and I went back to my hometown of Charles City. I was showing him some of my favorite spots from when I lived back home with my parents and as I look back through my photos, so many of my photography memories are from those favorite spots. Places where I would sit for hours on end taking pictures, writing, or simply thinking about life. As I look through these photos, so many memories come back to me.
The Cemetery, a place most people are afraid of, but a place where i spent most of my childhood and teenage years. This was the place where I found peace and inspiration. I took this one day when I just needed to get away. I was walking along the train tracks in the cemetery and out of no where laid down. This photo was the product. =]
Imagine a warm summer night. Stars in the sky, a cool breeze blowing the nearby trees. The sound of your friends yelling as you frantically chase one another. Lions Field Park, the home of Tag. This was my summer of 2009. That summer I learned who my best friends were and also got injured too many times. I'll never forget the look my parents gave me when they asked why I was out till 1 in the morning and I replied that I had been playing tag.
The stump. Next to the river. Ducks and geese all around. Occasionally the local swans would show themselves out on the water. This was where I sat and wrote almost DAILY after school. My senior year was tough on me and when I needed time to relax and forget the world, that was where I went. A place that was once discovered by me and my best friend Mitchell soon became my place of solitude. The last time I went back to that stump, it had been destroyed. Tree branches and brush now replace the beautiful spot on the river bank where I spent so many days.
Finally my road, and the cemetery. The place I grew up. At one time there was a house near those 3 large trees. One morning I woke up to see that house burning down. Riverside Cemetery had bought the land and donated the house to the Fire Department as a demo house. Years have gone by since they burned down the house. A few graves have made there way into the open area and the black fence now surrounds the open lot. I played football almost every night in the summer out there. Sat under the shade, and at one time picked lilacs from the beautiful bushes that bloomed each Easter.
These are just a few of my photos from back home. Some that have special meaning to me and that remind me of a time when life was simple. A time when school and work didn't matter. Just me, a camera, and a love for life.
