More Pictures of Bricks and Blue Sky

So, we've wandered away from Walton Way and back downtown, where we'll have one final look-see. Are you noticing a pattern here? Yup, lots of last-looks. City of Dust as it has existed for almost 9 months is about to end. It had to happen. I'm running out of photos and stories and, since I don't live in the CSRA any longer, there's not much I can do to replenish my stock. I've got a handful of posts I'd still like to do, but you can count them on one hand. This is a set of barred doors behind an abandoned school off Reynolds St. Doesn't make it easy to get in, does it?

When I began City of Dust I thought once I'd posted everything I had regarding Augusta and the surrounding region I'd call it a day. Mainly, I had a lot of information I wanted to get out of my head and tons of photos I had no other use for. Thus, I've always been posting for myself, primarily. Which is good when you're doing a blog these days, 'cause it's hard to get people's attention. I believe Congress recently passed legislation mandating that every citizen is required to have a blog, effective immediately. But it's been a great way to process the experiences of the last three or four years and flush the mental vaults, hopefully in preparation for restocking by three or four years of equally intense experiences. That said, I've been really gratified to find that some people do read this thing, or at least look at the pictures, which is good enough. Some of these people I don't even know! I've appreciated all the comments, and its been fun to "meet" a bunch of folks through cyberspace. This is just a long-winded way of saying I don't think I'll be able to actually "quit." We're smack in the middle of downtown here. People exiting this building off the second floor have not been happy.

However, there will be some significant changes. I've thought about just what those changes might be, and I think I can say a couple of things. First, posts will get MUCH less text-y, and the focus will be primarily on photographs. I don't foresee having the time to crank out these huge posts in the future, nor will I have the inclination to include so many shots. While it may have been delusional, I've told myself that I've been "documenting" a specific piece of the CSRA for the last 9 months, and so I've put up tons of photos. I've hoped that the pictures complemented the text and maybe provided some atmosphere. However, not all of them were of the highest "artistic merit." Well, hell, what do I know about "artistic merit"? I'll continue to post the shots I like, regardless. There'll just be fewer of them (and they'll be a little larger). A window adjacent to the above doors.



Without the regional restriction which, I admit, has actually been a great asset, I'll be able to post all kinds of photos from all over the place. But, don't worry, you won't suddenly see pictures of puppies and begonias. Not that I don't like puppies and begonias, but I remain shackled to a dark, troubling vision. Aw geez, I hope I'm kidding. We've moved one whole building to the left of the one in the two shots above.



I've toyed with the idea of putting up one photo a day, but I'm kidding myself if I think that's going to happen. More likely, I'll do a group of shots, probably three, every few days. The photos in these triptychs will be somehow related, and I may tell a story or give some history or write something or other. Or, I might not say much beyond the location of the pictures. I guess what I'm saying is City of Dust might become primarily a photoblog. We'll see. I'm open to suggestions. Feel free to write in and say, "Uh, hey, buddy, don't you think you've done enough damage here?!" or "Please, whatever you do, don't stop writing 1600-word posts that are only tangentially related to the photos that accompany them." The carwash above, on 13th, just before you cross the Savannah River into South Carolina, has undergone a complete facelift and is now a fully operational auto repair shop. For now.



It's been a pretty good run though, I think. We've seen an abandoned mill and an abandoned brick factory. We've seen an abandoned rooming house and an abandoned freezer facility. We've also seen an abandoned mission and an abandoned farmhouse in a swamp. Oh, and there was a whole abandoned neighborhood, too! But we also checked out the Augusta Canal, hung around downtown Augusta, went to the junkyard, and spent some time in Aiken, SC. And we've studied the sad histories of the dead towns of Ellenton, Dunbarton, and Hamburg, South Carolina. I feel like the coverage has been fairly extensive, if I do say so myself. For some reason we went back to Ellis St., above, for one last look.

So, I feel pretty good about where City of Dust has been. Photographically, we'll go all around the country from here, and hopefully the world. Unfortunately, for most of my life I haven't even owned a camera, so I'm sort of starting from scratch. Again, thanks to everyone that's written in and said they enjoy the stories and the photos. It's been very much appreciated and, you know, there's no reason to STOP doing that stuff! This shot and the photo below are of Hulse's Laundry, which we've seen a little of before. Next time, we're going to take a (final) trip down Sand Bar Ferry Rd. It'll be business as usual for the next few posts, but I just wanted to let everyone know that changes are afoot. (But, no, I don't actually have a job yet.) Take care, everyone.