We don’t get to do it as often as we might like, but Kathy & I enjoy taking day trips to places that are just an hour or two from home. We visited West Jefferson, NC a few weeks ago for the first time in several years, having previously visited to photograph the town for a magazine assignment.
West Jefferson is a nice mountain town, just busy enough to not be considered “sleepy,” but not as zoo-crazy as a place like Boone or Blowing Rock. Needless to say, that was one of the things we remembered about West Jefferson, and was one of the reasons we wanted to go back.
One of the notable things about West Jefferson is all of the murals on the sides of the buildings. The scenes are varied, but generally reflect the history of the town or are some kind of artistic or humanitarian expression. There are a number of interesting shops and art galleries, and even a photography gallery.
I naturally had my camera with me, and while many of my photos would not be considered “Chamber of Commerce” shots, I had fun finding the things I like to find and capturing them with my camera.
We found it an interesting place to spend the day, and ended up coming home via the Blue Ridge Parkway which crosses nearby. It was a nice place to visit and one we hope to return to again soon.
I would say you have a few images with lines. 🙂 This would be a town I’d enjoy living in. To me there is a major difference with a mural and graffiti. Well done, Sir Tom!
There’s something about lines that I find irresistible, Monte! Especially when combined with rust and peeling paint. We’ve got a bunch of nice small towns here in NC and we’re trying to get to as many as we can!
Fine images, Tom. Rust and peeling paint would provide subject matter for days, I think, plus the murals and those laconic snippets of sober city infrastructure – I guess you could spend many hours there without running out of stuff, and in this collection you made excellent use of it.
Thank you, Markus. You’re right, there are a lot of interesting things here, and one could spend as much time as they had exploring it. I find myself visiting these places over and over sometimes, and while I often take photos of the same things, there is almost always something that I see that I didn’t see before or that I see differently in different light.
I love the phrase “laconic snippets of sober city infrastructure” and may need to steal it! 😉
We use to get to West Jefferson every once in a while and I’m always pleased to see these small towns surviving if not thriving. It appears you successfully discovered and captured some interesting photo subject matter while there. Did you guys find a good place to eat in West Jefferson?
Ha! We seem to have a reputation for finding the good places to eat, don’t we Brooks? 🙂 I’ve always said that I would never be confused with a person who goes to the gym for lunch.
We did eat at a place called Black Jack’s. It’s a locally owned pub with pretty good food, a nice beer selection and good service. There aren’t any Bruce’s Fabulous Foods in West Jefferson – there’s only one Bruce’s! 😉