Category Archives: Delta

A little Delta Color

More Fuji x100s photos from the Delta… Color this time!  One thing I noticed this last trip was just how much color there is in the Delta. It seems like in a place that has a lot of sameness in the landscape, one way to spice it up is to put some color on it!

I don't recall seeing a stop sign suspended like this before
I don’t recall seeing a stop sign suspended like this before
Window surrounded by brick and color
I wonder what the color history is of this building
Stop sign peppered with shotgun pellets
Not sure what the point of shooting up signs is…
Delta restaurant with stuff on the sidewalk
The owner of the Blue Biscuit said he got the couch at an estate sale for Elvis’ estate. I figured it was a tall tale, but….
SIgn for church with bottles below
Homemade sign for a small church. I noticed the beer bottles below it before I noticed the spelling errors.

More Fuji x100s Black and White photos in the Delta

Black and white mail boxes, one with bullet hole
I guess this old mailbox needed some ventilation. Loved the shapes
Crossroads near the Dockery Plantation
This is one of the crossroads that may have inspired Robert Johnson’s song about selling his soul to the devil to learn to play music. This one is near the Dockery Plantation. There are at least 4 crossroads that have this story attached. The intersection of 49 and 61 near Clarksdale Mississippi was not in existence at the time Johnson was alive. Some folks ignore that fact when they say that was the one.
Robert Johnson's headstone
Some text RJ wrote before he died
Robert Johnson's headstone with mementoes
Some folks visited Robert Johnson’s grave and left their respects.
Church from the movie "the Help"
This is the church used in the movie “the Help”

I lost an old friend in the Delta

My buddy Lowry and I have been photographing this old church near Nita Yuma Mississippi in the Delta for a while. The church was the Methodist Episcopal Church and it was built in 1878. This last trip down was a few weeks after gravity and time took their final toll. It’s stupid to be emotional about a place long abandoned I suppose, but, there you go. I suppose I like taking photos of old places because they have character and have stood the test of time. When I see these old places, I imagine the excitement that was in the community as they were being built and readied for occupancy, then the joy as they finally opened. I wonder what happened to the folks that used to come every Sunday and then started petering out. How the last minister felt as he gave the last service there, closed the door and walked away.

While we were there, Lowry and I talked about how it was like losing an older relative. We knew it was coming, but, it’s hard to see and have happen. There’s a true sense of loss for me and this old place… In some ways, these old buildings are a metaphor for my own place in the world. I’ve still got a lot of years (I hope!) but some days I wonder about the state I’m in! LOL

Remains of an old church after it fell down in Mississippi

Abandoned church that succumbed to time and fell down recently
The church finally fell