STILL Getting Around Charleston WV

I thought I would post a few more pics of Charleston and the immediate area. Yes, I do have some more interior pics of out Capitol building, however, the churches of Charleston, still showed some beautiful images. Below was captured at the Sacred Heart Church. All images will enlarge if you click on them. PLEASE leave comments about what you have seen.

Mary and Temptation.

Our Lord, again near Sacred Heart Church

The variety of faith in Charleston allows the multiple spiers of each building to contribute to the city scape.

As promised, I also captured a few more detailed shots inside of our Capitol building, but I will also leave you with some extra shots. I will be adding more data about these pics, but I thought you might want to see the items below.

One of the wings at the Capitol building

Detail to side entrance

Detail of the wonderful marble. I will update what the symbols mean at a later time

Outside statue on Capitol grounds. I just like this statue, well rendered and of course our state flag

District 17 UMWA Headquarters, yes, its down the road from the Capitol building

My favorite statue on the Capitol grounds

 The Charleston WV Capitol Building....amazing

When you drive through West Virginia, everybody talks about the dome. They mean the WV state Capitol  building in Kanawha County. As I have said in earlier blog posts, this building is piled floor to ceiling with symbols of power, wealth, prosperity and wisdom. The dome is so bright, so golden that really, everyone stops and just looks. BUT, I am sorry to say, they often miss the meaning and themes on their own state dome. This blog entry will be updated often, however, if you want to know all about the West Virginia State Capitol building and yes, our dome, I STRONGLY suggest reading "Cass Gilbert's West Virginia State Capitol, Hardcover by Wilkins, Ann Thomas" about the designer (Cass Gilbert) of this building and what he intended to show us. Below is a quick tour, more info will be provided soon. Our state Capitol building was open for business on June 20, 1932. Please do leave comments. NOTE:  (Click on image for larger view) 

So you see the above, from across the Kanawha River in the Charleston University Parking Lot. Fun stuff. However, to know the history of the dome you need to get closer. (Click on image for larger view)

WHO was Cass Gilbert

Cass Gilbert designed our state capitol building. His works include, The United States Supreme Court Building, The Arkansas State Capitol building, the Minnesota State Capitol building, the US Department of Commerce HQ etc, etc. In other words, he is a big deal. NOTE, the image of Cass Gilbert is copyright free

The Eagle below sits atop our dome. The eagle, is almost 5 feet tall, but our Capitol building is just over 292 feet.

 Seeing Charleston WV, CAREFULLY

Charleston West Virginia is a sneaky city to photograph. Yes, I said sneaky. No matter where you go in the city there are places that are not obvious to see, BUT they are in front of you. Then it gets worse, you start to think, HOW did I not see that before?

The Steeples. Its a fact, in the heart of Charleston is what I call a congregation of churches. All sects, all varieties, and at street level, you lose the BIG view. Every church, steeple, building, statue stands out fine. BUT WHAT IF you were able to go to the 6th level of a parking garage on McFarland Street? You would see this:

I first saw the above view in an easy google search. I was convinced, oh its fake, or I need a moon money camera. There is no way, anyone could make this photo. NOPE. Mine is above. Its a wonderful view. NOW, I had to take my own advice...slow down. Look at things from different places

AGAIN, I had missed the above..How many times have I walked past the St George Orthodox Church??? The windows of the building across the street, showed me the view above...I had not completely slowed down....not yet.

The temptation in any city is to see a cool building and think I gotta get that picture. However, slowing down allows you to see the parts and pieces of those buildings that are works of art, or rather, pieces of art. The Banking and Trust building facades...

BUT, I had to be embarrassed again.  OF COURSE I was headed to the Capital Building.....AND YES, I wanted to take pics of our state dome, BUT before I got there, I noticed the Dept of Motor Vehicles building in the back of our grand dome...AND YES, I saw more art. In fact, most of people there, walked by it every day, not a soul said a word. The Spirit of West Virginia Mural......

So I walked around the building and as you probably guessed, I found another cool, gold leafed mural, albeit, smaller:

I have another blog entry coming soon, one that is about our dome.   However, before I go, let me know what you think. Also, go to these places. I promise to let you know where they are, and before you know it, Charleston WV, sneaks up on you as a very beautiful and art filled city.......MORE updates are on the way....

 THE WATERMARK

As of today, I am happy to announce my new logo and watermark. 

©

It is of course my beloved 2005 Toyota mini -van. The mini van is a noble car to drive in West Virginia. Basically, its a couch, with 4 wheels and 6 cylinders of raw power that propelled me down the twisty roads. The C.T.G. emblem blazed on my van is my acronym, Coal Town Guy. I bet you will be stunned to learn, I photograph coal towns and all other amazing things in the great state of West Virginia. 

Just a heads up, my logo, and my watermark will begin to pepper all of my photos. That means that if you want to use ANY of my photos you can e mail me and we can discuss a fee structure for the watermark to be removed and give you permission to use said photo. 

WHY I have a Watermark

Its funny, years ago, I would have scoffed and said hey my photos don't need a watermark. It just seemed arrogant to me...AND even worse...Hey, folks would not take MY images and claim they took them, or use them, OR post them on their web site and never ever mention my name, OR sell them on Etsy as a T shirt or coffee cup....... Well, I was WRONG. ALL of the above did happen. However, I am not a person to call out a single person or entity. Nope. So, with some help and a kind hearted hand, I commissioned the above copyrighted image...

I honestly have read many blogs that are for and against watermarks. To be 100% clear, this is a hobby. IF folks want to buy a print, great! IF folks wish to comment, EVEN BETTER. BUT given that some of the places I photographed are GONE now and I drove hundreds of miles to get them, it will be a cold day in hell before I let it be stolen. 

I even had this spiffy T shirt made with my watermark. Come on, you know you love it. Normally I do not use my Iphone for my pics, but, its a selfie...why not.

AND HOW, OH HOW do I approach the places I photograph? I approach every place and person with the utmost caring and compassion I can. However, I maintain a sense of humor:

NEW PHOTOS WILL BE COMING

I am very excited to get my new pics out soon.  My e mail, JUST IN CASE:

whitbywv@gmail.com