Virginia Bound…

Old barn near Wytheville, VA - photographed by Photographer Ricky Davis of TRD Photography on Kodak Tri X film

So this weekend I’m headed out of town to one of my favorite states to explore, good old Virginia. The plan is to check out the D-Day Memorial in Bedford, VA but there will be lots of side treks as well.

Virginia has become one of my absolute favorites. There is just so much to see and explore there. So much history has happened there. One of my favorite areas of Virginia is the town of Wytheville and it’s surrounding areas. The countryside is so beautiful and the town of Wytheville really values the history of their town and preserving it. It’s such a great community.

On my last trip through I was able to photograph this old barn on film. I’d photographed it in color before but I love the style of that barn so much, I had to get it on b&w film. I’m definitely hoping to take a few more photographs this weekend in the Wytheville area.

What else should I look into photographing while in Virginia this weekend? Or what should I plan on for future trips?

Religious Sign Series - Springfield, TN find…

Sign found in Springfield, TN - Photograph taken by photographer Ricky Davis of TRD Photography on Kodak Tri X Film

As I’ve posted about previously I’ve been working on a religious sign series since last year. I stop at various signs I come across while traveling and take the photos in hopes that stopping and looking at how some of these come across, we think about the way we go about things.

I can’t remember if I took this shot early this year or late last year. I was up in Nashville and was out exploring. I was eating at Taco John’s in White House, TN and saw some signs about some antique stores in Springfield, TN, so I decided to go check them out. As I was driving over there I drove past a church that had this giant cross and signs about abortion out front. To be honest it kind of shocked me. Just the wording and terminology used. I had cars behind me and wasn’t able to pull over then and I wanted to kind of digest it a little bit to be honest. I took the photo on the way back from Springfield. As I did, apparently the church had a school or day care and I was being passed by carloads of young kids and families as I was taking this photo.

This sign I’ve been wondering ever since what to say about it. It’s not the typical bizarre religious sign. It’s definitely not one of the funny ones that makes you roll your eyes. A little about me, I grew up in a strict religious GOP home. As a kid I constantly heard religious radio talk show hosts talking about the horrors of abortion and it being made that basically people are out having unprotected sex and then just using abortions to get rid of the results of their behavior. Do I personally like the idea of babies being aborted? I don’t because I believe life is valuable HOWEVER abortion is way more complex than what is brainwashed in the Christian republican community. There is so many aspects of women’s health, rape, incest, and other issues that come into play. It’s very rarely I believe used as just a “get out of a kid free card” that we were taught to believe.

This sign really bothers me because I think of the women who pass it and may have had an abortion at one time. It already takes a mental toll and I know people whom have felt so ashamed because of what they are taught in Christian churches. Using such language as executed and such and then later seeing that many kids pass by this everyday. It just kind of hit me. I think it’s so incredibly important to think about the way we affect people with our words.