Closed for Business
Jones Grocery Store, long closed for business, is located in the Township of Lewisville, North Carolina, on Shallowford Road in the western portion of Forsyth County.
When Bold Colors Seem Distracting
If you’ve been following this blog for a little while, you’ve no doubt noticed my penchant for using bold colors in my photos, even perhaps to the point of over-saturation. I just love causing color to erupt whenever it appears bashful and unappreciated! (And this probably won’t be the last time I confess that weakness.)
From the outset, though, today’s photo of Jones Grocery Store was resistant to some of my usual color techniques. I wanted to make the photo “bold and beautiful.” I wanted to make its colors almost jump off the screen. But that was not to be.
I hadn’t encountered this difficulty with the previous post, Country Store, where the store was shown in the distance. But now, having moved closer to the building, which made the store’s age more evident, I found that attempting to apply a bold color treatment seemed out of character with the store. Even the blog post title itself, “Closed for Business,” seemed at odds with my regular color treatment.
Finding a Solution
Thus, instead of loud, saturated colors, the scene insisted on a quiet nostalgia. And to achieve that, a rendering close to monochromatic — with mostly washed-out colors — was called for. I was horrified! No, no — just kidding!
To read more about the challenge of using color — and to see some additional photo options of this scene — please continue to the NEXT SECTION. CLICK for more color information and to see the optional photos
Country Store
Jones Grocery Store in the Township of Lewisville, North Carolina.
Historical Site
Traveling west on Shallowford Road from downtown Lewisville, NC eventually brings one to a curve in the road, not far from the Yadkin River, where Jones Grocery Store sits quietly on the left. Across the road, atop a hill, sits Union United Methodist Church.
I’m not sure how long Jones Grocery Store has been closed, but it’s not been in operation for many years. In 2006 the Lewisville Historical Society placed a historical marker on the store’s property that reads:
JONES GROCERY STORE, 1875 — Joseph Spurgeon Jones (1845–1928) built the original store that at the time was in the Little Yadkin Township, a part of Yadkin County. In 1914, his son, Will A. Jones (1871–1940), moved the store across the road east of its present location. After a disastrous robbery in 1926, Will built the present structure, which included a residence. Three generations of the Jones family ran the store for a century. Subsequent owners include James and Frances Vaughn Gough.
Solving a Photographic Problem
I’ve driven by Jones Grocery Store a number of times within the last year, sometimes taking photos of it, but most of the time not. I was looking for the time of day with the best light for photographing the store. The problem was that the front of the store is shaded most of the day. The very best time, I found, was mid-morning. But even then, the front of the store is still not in direct sunlight.
To learn how I solved the lighting problem, please continue to the NEXT SECTION, where I also include a black-and-white version of the above photo. CLICK for more on the country store
