Carpenter Decorating Plant Burns to the Ground

Early Wednesday morning, October 31, before 4 a.m. a local Lattimore plant exploded in flames. The plant was created to produce Christmas ornaments, which were supposedly flame retardent. The cause of the fire was from a rag soaked in mineral spirits - a type of paint thinner - that was disposed of improperly.
































photos by Ashley Chatham

Irony

An average house along side of West Stagecoach trail in Polkville, NC, has discovered a new way of completing chores without ever leaving the house...tie your goat to the snapper...and occasionally alternate spots in the yard!!

photo by Ashley Chatham

Back Porch Light Painting

Distracting friends attempt to capture my attention while trying to light paint a nearby barn.

photo by Ashley Chatham

Pedestrians

photo by Ashley Chatham

A local citizen wanders through downtown Charlotte with high expectations.

Jerry Lodriguss' Phenomenal Sports Photography

Features for the Week

Photos by Ashley Chatham

A young girl chooses her first ride at the Ellenboro Fair, NC, after completing a game of "choose the winning duck."








A young boy is overwhelmed with excitement as he flies by his onlooking mother on a Nascar fair ride.









A teenage couple uses a steering wheel as an alternative to holding hands.





Fans are so captured by a nearby burn-out competition that the deflating gorilla goes unnoticed.





A local citizen discovers a new approach to overcome the hassle of carrying tires...

wait...how is he supposed to answer that call coming in on his cell phone?








The town's chiropractor is caught sharing is musical talent at a nearby coffee shop.















Therapeutic pony rides are given to handicapped children at a Charlotte, NC, horse show.

Eugene Smith ~ A Compositional Analysis

Mad Hands - Haiti; 1959
(photo by Eugene Smith)

Eugene Smith is not only one of the greatest war photographers in history, but he has also mastered the use of symbolism throughout his images with lighting and other compositional features. In this photograph, the use of light is very important in portraying how the subject is longing for more than just physical freedom. The prisoner and the darkness that surrounds him is symbolic for reality. The reality being that he is confined in his own personal realm of hell and the light, which he is aggressively reaching for, is unobtainable. In this case, the light represents freedom and entraps the viewer of the connotation that the prisoner can touch freedom, but will never be able to grasp it. The prisoner will only be known for his eager hands and never by his face. His suffering hands shows the mental struggles he is attempting to overcome not taking into account that what the light offers will continue to be an obstacle he will never be allowed to cross.