In my continuing quest to seek out new places that I haven’t explored around my home turf, I traveled to Palatka, Florida yesterday. It’s actually got a pretty interesting history so I’d encourage you to read the link. I’ve been through Palatka countless times but I’ve never really stopped to see what the town has to offer.

With a population around the 10,000 mark, it’s considerable larger than where I grew up but it still has a familiar feel. I parked at one end of the historic downtown area and walked about 20 blocks. I was surprised that despite it being a weekend with the holidays right around the corner, very little was open. There are plenty of shops which should’ve been busy but most of downtown was closed up.

My main target was a large number of murals representing the community’s history. They were very well done. Something that impressed me is the kindness of the people I crossed paths with. Many times I found myself shooting across the street to get the entire mural in the frame. On more than one occasion, driver’s would stop and wait for me to finish rather than driving through my shot. At one location, a car was parked blocking part of a large mural that I had to take in several shots. When the driver saw me, she waved and drove out of my way.

Murals have really grown in popularity in recent years. In many cases, though, there is little rhyme or reason to them in a specific area. It was nice to see the history of the town woven in through each depiction. Each piece of art was tied to the area.

Of course, I can’t just take pictures of murals. I love to explore the world around me. I shot a mix of my favorite Fujifilm recipe, Dreamland, along with some black and white. I spent around 4 hours exploring this small area and was pleased with the images I walked away with. I’m looking forward to the next adventure.