In a previous post (way back when), I stated that I was originally from Birmingham, AL; I've been living in North Carolina for the last 3 years. Montgomery is Alabama's Capitol city, but it's also the place where my family originated from. During my early years and some of my childhood, I went back in forth between my home city and Montgomery. As I grew older, however, my visit to the city became more and more infrequent. Half of my family (typically the side I seldom interact with) still lives in the Capitol City to this day while the other half lives in or within proximity to Birmingham.
My brother-in-law was born, raised, and grew up within Montgomery. He came to Birmingham some years back to attend university but eventually returned home. My sister went with him as well. They've been married for some years with three children under five.
March 19th to the 26th of this year, I decided to go hiking out in Wyoming. I made the decision to drive instead of fly. I'm not terrified of flying. I just hate being in cramped spaces with a lot of people. Long story short, I came back to Greensboro because my trip was interrupted due to a closed road (the closure set me back 26 hours; I had already been driving for 10 hours at that point). Determined to salvage my remaining vacation days, I went home to see my sister and my nieces. It had been years since I had seen my oldest niece, who is four. Last month was the first time I got to meet my middle and baby niece in person.
Here are some of the photos I captured during my weekend down there. Most of these photos are of downtown Montgomery.
I really love this mural; it's very powerful. I haven't gotten the opportunity to research the meaning behind it or who painted it.
Trying to get the brightness on a Polaroid camera is always tricky, especially with older cameras (fyi they do have newer Polaroid cameras that auto-adjust for you). I snapped this mural with my iPhone 13 Pro Max. Another dislike I have with my Polaroid cameras is the inability to adjust the distance. I was wary about getting closer because then the Polaroid photo would have cropped out most of the mural.
A distant shot of the Court Square Fountain. The fountain was built on top of an artesian well. Hebe, the Greek goddess of eternal youth, is the figure on top of the fountain.
Here's a closer shot of the fountain.
The Court Square Fountain is located down the street from the AL's Capitol Building. The actual perspective of Polaroid cameras isn't the best. It looks further than it was to my proximity of it.
Here's a closer shot of the Capitol Building.
An extremely long time ago (probably around 15-16. I was of driving age, that much I can remember.), I was out with my uncle. He's an entrepreneur and also dabbles in real estate. I can't remember why we were initially in the area. All I could remember was this gorgeous house. It's called "Winter Place." The home was commissioned and owned by Joseph S. Winter and his family. "The complex was added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage on September 29, 2005, and to the National Register of Historic Places on May 31, 2006."
I'll link the Wikipedia page under this photo.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_Place
Winter Place is currently undergoing renovation after decades of neglect and past failed restoration attempts. It's owned by Benjamin Blanchard, a real-estate tycoon and bachelor philanthropist. I wish I had gotten the opportunity to capture the house in film before its current restoration.
Here are some photos of Winter Place from 2012. These are pictures I pulled from Google (I can't remember where I got them from. These pictures have been sitting on my laptop of years). They aren't my own. I did take some pictures of the house the first time I saw it, but I can't remember what happened to the pictures. They may have been deleted.
