A Fine Day....

to take your pet parrot (?) out for a stroll.  Yesterday while wandering around the Birmingham Botanical Gardens, we happened upon a couple photographing their pet parrot! He/she was tethered on a little "leash" and was quite willing to let me have a shot as well.

First Impressions

is the title of a terrific exhibit at Lite Box Gallery.  Curated by Birmingham printmaker  Charles Buchanan,  it features the works of 30 Central Alabama artists.  In addition, the gallery is also offering lectures and hands on workshops.  Recently I had the pleasure of photographing a workshop led by Patrick Mayton. Patrick, part owner of the Stranded Art Co-op in Montevallo, was leading his students through the fascinating silk screen process.   The show will hang through March 26th.

Lite Box Gallery

Young & Vann Building

1731 First Avenue North

Simply Spring

I have received three new photography books in the mail this week. I'm experimenting with negative space. Can you tell?

Forgotten History

Meet Birmingham photographer Brian Francis.  Brian has been a commercial photographer in town with an impressive list of clients for the last 10years.  Currently a collection his (wacky) portraits are hanging at the Bottletree Bar and Café.  The photographs are great fun in their own right, but Brian's childhood friend Tom Bagby has written an a little story to go with each one. The collection is titled Forgotten History, A Collection of 20th Century Photographs Representing Those Who Failed to Make the Cut.  I decided that Brian was way too much fun to have him just pose in front of his work. I waited till he wasn't watching and caught this one.

NO! NO!...

*

a thousand times NO!!*  The gift shop at Sweet Peas Garden Center always has items to tempt me.  This basket of vintage yard signs ( first seen on the blog here) just made me laugh out loud!

*With apologies to Betty Boop and company. 

A Day Late....

and a Moon Pie short!  I was a little under the weather this week and let Fat Tuesday get away from me. I had these fabulous masks from Dinah Toro's Charlotte Woodson Antiques in Mt. Brook, so we'll just celebrate Mardi Gras right here today.  By the way, did you know that Mobile, Alabama has the oldest  MardiGras carnival celebration in the country??

String of Fish??

No just colorful glass windchimes spotted from the front porch of Sweet Peas Garden Center in Homewood.

Zoom, Zoom, Zoom...

Recently a reader in the UK found me while searching the  Barber Motorsports Museum.  He asked if I had any photos of a vintage Lotus Mk4.  Although I'd featured some Lotus cars,  here, it was not the one he needed.  We chatted back and forth, and I promised him I'd take another trip out there and see what I could do.  This past Saturday, my friend Terry cheerfully chauffeured me, and I was able to find the exact model that was requested.  It was way too shiny and special not to share with all of you today.  As a note, our museum has the largest Lotus collection in the world!

Sunday Church Series - First Pres

Birmingham's First Presbyterian Church gets a lot of face time on this blog. It's a beautiful place of worship, and from time to time I sit in the carpool line right beside it!  Pays to have your camera handy.

Tiptoe Through the......

Add caption

tulip trees!  Spring has arrived in Birmingham, and my neighborhood is just so beautiful.  Have a look at this tulip tree that I shot from my car window.  We've had some severe weather lately, so these lovely blooms are falling fast.

Namaste

Meet my wonderful yoga teacher, India Henson.  India, a hatha yoga instructor at ph Balanced Fitness in Vestavia,  is helping me learn to "breathe deeply and let tension flow out of the body". Where has she been all my life??  For the record, it will be a very long time before I master Tree Pose in the top photo, but I am quite good at Child's Pose on the left!

Joy Ride!

Oh I love Sweet Peas Garden Shop in Homewood. Just when I think there won't be anything new to shoot there, I pull up and there's this great old convertible in the front.  I got weak in the knees. How fun is that!

Apparently...

Pepsi-Cola had more of a kick,  back in the day when it sold for a nickel.  Who knew it was "invigorating"!  Spotted on 2nd Avenue North.

CDP Theme Day - Favorite Part of Town

If you have followed this blog for very long, you will have already guessed my favorite part of town...the Pepper Place Market of course!  I have more fun photographing here than almost anywhere else in Birmingham.   I'm thrilled that it will reopen the middle of April and go full swing until December. Stay tuned.

Today, over 500 of my City Daily Photoblogger friends around the world are sharing their favorite part of town.  You'll want to have a look!

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants