What do you do when the sun shines in Alabama!!!!

You stop all blogging and go out shooting!!!!  I have not had one moment of time since my last blog because it has been so beautiful down here in the state of Alabama.

I have now donated over 3,000 images to the George F. Landegger Alabama Library of Congress Collection.  I am working on my final 1,000 images, then will head home on June 11th.  I have been here over 100 days.  Every day I get up at 5:30AM can't wait to get out on the road.  I will travel 20,000 miles in Alabama by the time I am done.

Visit my new "Alabama" Web site: 21stCenturyAlabama.com

I have seen some of the most beautiful and interesting sites.

        The shrimp boats in Bayou La Batre

          A Civil War reenactment in Bridgeport

Colorful Murals in Dothan

    Springtime in Auburn

  Feeding goats at Burritt on the Mountain in Huntsville

  Even a visit to an old motel along the road - Way out there

I've also received some great press - see links:

http://blog.al.com/entertainment-press-register/2010/04/_highsmith_trail_pphotograp.html

http://blog.al.com/living-news/2010/05/national_photographer_captures.html

http://blog.al.com/birmingham-news-stories/2010/05/frances_benjamin_johnstons_tri.html

http://www.whnt.com/news/whnt-100-days-project-alabama,0,4511727.story

I will be sad to leave Alabama.  I so look forward to seeing all of it and I'm sure there are some small towns that I have not visited.  I will be back in the fall for the Alabama and Auburn games and I will try to get to all I have not finished.

Mr. Landegger has been very generous to send me to Alabama.  Now he is donating a summer of photography in historic Washington, D.C. - it will also be donated copyright-free to the Library of Congress.

In my entire career, I have never enjoyed anything so much as this venture.  I really can't put my finger on why? Maybe it was just the right time for me to go out and truly document 21st Century America.  Also, maybe my 30 year career, which has been fascinating, has reached the top of the mountain. Then again it could be I am connecting with my childhood that I spent on my grandparents farm in North Carolina during the summers.

I now have my work set out for me.  I want to photograph all of the states for the next 16 years and give all of the images to the American people so that 100 years from now we can see what we looked like at the turn of this century.

I know the sun is still shinning, but I will be blogging more often once I get home and can catch up with myself.  Can't wait to see my husband and my kitties.