THE BITTER END, New York City's Oldest Rock Club

    Back in the summer of 1973, the year I graduated from high school, David Tenery and I had a band called The Trapp Brothers. There were four of us, and I won't disclose the other two members' names, but we had been practicing for several months at Gardner Webb College. David had written some great songs, and we had a fantastic Folk Rock sound. We used an acoustic guitar, bass guitar, banjo, sometimes a conga drum, and just had a great sound.

    Remember the year 1973, the time, and all the music that was popular in that era. We were in the middle of the Vietnam War. We had all the music from The Woodstock Rock Festival. It was such a great time for music.

    The Bitter End had launched many good artists in the past, including Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Bob Dylan, Arlo Guthrie, Neil Young, Roger McGuinn, and too many folk heroes to name. We sent them a demo tape of our songs, and they loved it. We were invited to perform there. If we were accepted, we would get to tour the entire Coffee House circuit across the United States. We were so excited.

    The week before we were to leave, two members of the band backed out. Their reason was that they didn't want to try to make it big, as our dream was, but preferred to stay and continue college. Looking back, I can't say that I blamed them; education is important. David and I both went later and got our education, but this was a chance of a lifetime, considering all the Folk Heroes who came out of this place. We did the best we could. We put together a band in a week with a drummer and an electric guitarist and took off to New York City. This was not the same sound we had with the banjos and conga drum. It was a totally different sound. We went anyway, performed, and had a great time and experience. The people at The Bitter End knew it was a different sound and were turned down for performing the Coffee House Circuit.

    We still had a great time. It was my first visit to New York City. It was such a large city with terrible traffic, with all the yellow cabs and city buses trying to run over us. We had to park in parking decks and walk to our destinations. We got to see Central Park, the Statue of Liberty, Macy's store, the subway system, and lots of people—thousands on just one block of the streets. Our room was at a place called The Arlington Hotel. We had a full bed and a twin bed. Two of us slept sideways with our feet on a chair.

Street Photography, Urban Photography, Winston Salem North Carolina

I enjoy visiting the old down towns and cities. There is a lot going on and a lot to see when visiting. many down towns. Many of the down towns are active in the arts, and nice restaurants.

Downtown Elkin North Carolina, Urban Photography, Street Photography

I love shooting the old Downtown Photos, documenting history. There is much old history to be seen in the downtown cities because most of the business have moved  to shopping centers, malls, and strip malls. The old downtown's once thrived and many have been revived.

                                                                    Downtown Elkin North Carolina

Historical Photographer, Old Mill, Pigeon Forge TN, Sevier County

When I do a photo walk or photo shoot, I love to go into the old downtown areas and look for buildings, many having dates around the early 1900's stamped right at the top of the structure. I also  look for long forgotten advertisements painted on a lot of the buildings which I call ghost signs. I try to photograph and preserve history digitally because much of this gets torn down and sandblasted never to be seen again. Many photos that I have already taken is already gone. I love old mills, drug stores, banks, hardware stores, ghost signs, courthouses, and much more too numerous to mention. You have to have an eye for these type of photos. I usually shoot as many pictures that I can hoping for that post card moment. I live in North Carolina which is where most of my photos are from. I have however did photo walks in other states, some which have been used in travel guides. Maybe I can come to your town someday.

Commercial Real Estate Photographer, Keith Hall, Elkin NC

There are other types of photography besides doing weddings and portrait photography. I occasionally have the opportunity to do Commercial Real Estate Photography. A lot of real estate agents try to do a lot of it on their own but can't quite get the expertise that a seasoned photographer can give them. Large real estate corporations sometimes need a photographer for acquisitions or deposition of some Commercial properties. Here is an example that I did recently at a Mall photo shoot  in Salisbury NC.

Yadkin River, W Kerr Scott Dam and Reservoir, Wilkes County

This is a photo of the W Kerr Scott Dam and Reservoir in Wilkesboro NC in Wilkes County. It is a great place to fish, camp and boat recreation. Each year there is a play called Tom Dooley performed at the Fort Hamby amphitheater.

Southern Railway Depot, North Wilkesboro NC

This is the Old Southern Railway Depot on Ninth Street in North Wilkesboro NC in Wilkes County. It is on the National Register of Historical Places.