On Assignment: Prattville, Alabama-Day One

Tonight, the format of my blog entry has obviously changed, and for good reason. I have seen the most bizarre place in my photographic travels to date. I don’t know exactly how to take the experience, but it was honestly the most interesting time I have had a camera in my hand. It was startling to walk through this creation and I couldn’t stop pressing my shutter button.

This is "The Cross Garden" in Prattville, Alabama. I knew nothing of the place until our chief photographer Greg showed me some shots that he had taken there. He was pretty insistent that I see this enigma for myself. I am extremely glad I took the time to stop in.

There was no way that posting only one photo from it would do the experience any kind of justice, so here is more of a photo essay where the shots are best viewed together.

This is the former land and art of a man named W.C. Rice, whom died earlier this year. He collected everything from telephone poles to kitchen stoves and assembled this “garden” in his yard. As you can see, he had somewhat of a fixation with expressing his religious views. People would buy these pieces of art straight from his yard for hundreds of dollars each.

I hate to be judgmental or to insert my opinion on someone that I have never and will never meet, but I feel like chiming in on this one. As some of his red-paint scrawlings say on the objects in his yard, here is my conclusion. Hell may be hot and God may be love, but this must be far, far over the edge. Taken seriously, this is the kind of religious throat stuffing that really turns people off from the whole idea of God or Jesus. I am not sure if this can be taken any other way or not. To take it in a comic sense would surely be blasphemy, right?

Please, brings some comments on this one. I would love to see everyone's opinions on it. I just hope the rest of my shots from Prattville will be this interesting.




"Read" by Wes Aldridge


"Hot, Hot, Hot" by Wes Aldridge


"Rugged Cross" by Wes Aldridge


"You Will Die" by Wes Aldridge


"On The Range" by Wes Aldridge


"72" by Wes Aldridge


"Help Me" by Wes Aldridge


"Sin" by Wes Aldridge


"Postmaster" by Wes Aldridge