Union Church--Pettis County

 

A view inside the Union Church in rural Pettis County, during a glorious moment of late afternoon sunlight in mid-December.  This church has been on my list to photograph and document for seven or eight years now, and I was fortunate to find it in such good condition and with such beautiful afternoon light.

Church in Grand Pass, Missouri

 

During a December road trip I took some time to visit a church in the small village of Grand Pass, Missouri.  I had arranged to tour the inside of the St. Luke United Church of Christ, and spent some time photographing the well-preserved interior and exterior of this more than 100 year old structure.

October Sunrise

 A sunrise from my front porch, early October.

Visual tour of an inactive Masonic Lodge

These photos were taken during a guided tour of one of central Missouri's de-commissioned Masonic Lodges.  I came to document the current structural state of the interior, and ended up fascinated by the details and the regalia and the ephemera that we found inside.  Sadly, because the roof has begun to deteriorate, the structure is not likely to be preserved.  But much of the ceremonial items inside were removed to a safer place.

On a hillside above Creede, Colorado

We had gone to the hill above Creede because legend has it that the grave of Bob Ford, the man who shot Jesse James, was located up here somewhere.  And not only legend, but local history and a few early photos bear this rumor out.  But despite our searching, we never found the tombstone.  I later learned that Mr. Ford's remains had been moved back to Missouri to rest closer to his family.  Fortunately, the  vista and the remarkable sky helped me find a wonderful image of a tranquil summer day in southern Colorado.

Photographic exploration of Macon, Missouri

This photo outing in Macon last winter was about as pure as they come...handheld, two or three lenses, exploring the alleys and crumbling buildings of downtown Macon on a sunny afternoon in mid-December.  This is what photography should feel like...creative wanderlust free of expectations and encumbrances.

The end of the road trip--western Kansas

The last photo I took during our family road trip vacation to Colorado, back in July.  This was somewhere in western Kansas, just after sunset.