Atlanta Photography Freelance Life

Things are a little slow right now with both my writing and photography. That's the ups and downs of freelance life!

I did have a photo job over the weekend in Peachtree City, so I brought my niece back up to Atlanta with me for a couple of days. I realized if I didn't grab her now, she'd be back in school before I knew it. 

Monday dawned hot and humid in Atlanta. We took Bauer for a short walk but he didn't want to go far. 

I wanted to take my niece to ride the streetcar and go to Centennial Park to play in the fountain. It turns out my friend Lauren was entertaining family too - her mom, sister, and nephew. Her nephew is only a year older than my niece. 

So we walked over to Lauren's, which is only about a half-mile, and picked her and her mom, sister, and nephew up on the way. 

In the south in the summer "walk" may be too strong a word. It's better to stroll.

It's hard for me because I'm a hard-core walker. I like to walk fast. But I've learned that strolling is wiser when you have the time. It keeps you from arriving in a complete puddle. Although when it's like this, even strolling doesn't always help.

But when the air is so thick and hot and the sun is shining bright, pounding down on you, it's better to take things at a slower pace.

From Lauren's, we all strolled down past MLK Jr's birth home and took the streetcar to Centennial Park.

The kids were happy running around in the fountain.

I brought my camera, though I didn't take a lot of photos. It was so incredibly bright out that even looking through my viewfinder, I was having a hard time seeing what kind of photos I was getting. 

I need my sunglasses when I'm out in bright sun but I can't use them when I look through the viewfinder. It's frustrating. 

But I managed to score a few good photos of my niece in the fountain. 

We adults took refuge on a shady bench while the kids ran around.

It was fun watching all the kids. There was a lot of them out there enjoying themselves. There's nothing quite like seeing and hearing the joyful, unabashed laughter of children.

After about an hour or so at the fountain, we were all hungry. We caught the streetcar and stopped at the Sweet Auburn Curb Market. Yum. 

If you're in Atlanta and you haven't gone to the Curb Market (now the Municipal Market), check it out. There's fresh produce, chicken, meat, and various restaurant booths. The market dates back to 1918. 

My niece went straight for the pizza.

I had a delicious mozzarella, tomato, and pesto double-crust pie from Panbury's. OMG! Definitely not my usual low-carb fare! But it was so worth the splurge.

Lauren had BBQ. Her mom, sister, and nephew got Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches. 

There was a moment of blood and excitement when Lauren's nephew lost a tooth!

After lunch, we left the comfortable air-conditioned market and went across the hot street to the streetcar stop. 

There was a woman with her two kids who asked how long the streetcar usually takes to come. We told her about 15 minutes. She said, "Okay, that's about how long we've been waiting. It should be here in a minute."

I checked the app. It said the estimated time of arrival was about six minutes. 

I looked a little while later and it said there was "no prediction." Hmmm...the woman and her children decided to walk back to their hotel.

We heard a lot of sirens and saw an ambulance.

The consensus was that the streetcar was probably stuck in some sort of traffic, so we decided to walk home from the market. It's only about a mile. But that was one hot, sweaty mile!

We saw a helicopter hovering over the city. I read later that there was a fire at the MARTA station. That may be what held up the streetcar. 

My niece and I stopped off at Lauren's for a glass of water and a cool down. Then we walked the rest of the way home. 

By the time we got home, it was about 4, and we were beat. 

It was a satisfyingly fun day.

And it was nice to take a day off during the week and just enjoy family and friends and the city.

I hope you get to enjoy your family and friends this summer!

See you between the raindrops!

xoxo,
Susan

If you're looking for some city shots of Atlanta, find them here!