Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
This is a cool Raleigh News & Observer story about a photographer who moved to Raleigh from Asheville a few years ago:
RALEIGH – The phone rings at dusk, just as the street lamps begin to glow and the windows of bars and restaurants glint with activity.
“Looks like it’s getting dark out,” says the voice on the other end, which belongs to John Morris. “Let’s go.”
We meet and begin hiking up Martin Street, Morris toting a digital camera and a collapsible tripod. He is looking for the unremarkable: office buildings, slivers of alleys, people who work the late shift, the whole urban backdrop.
Morris has been blogging since last summer. His blog — Goodnight, Raleigh! (www.goodnightraleigh.com) — is essentially photographs, which makes him a phlogger.
He describes himself as a moth drawn to light. Since he moved from Asheville to Raleigh about four years ago, he has roamed downtown at night to capture the ordinary scenes that daytime office workers and nighttime habitués don’t usually notice. Goodnight, Raleigh! documents a landscape in transition, with a run-down past and an under-construction future, in increments not typically covered by the daily newspaper.
Morris, 27, has a pleasant face and an agreeable manner. His brown hair is close-cropped, and over a thin frame he wears a gray sweat shirt, a button-up cotton shirt, cargo pants and athletic shoes. His demeanor is nonjudgmental, and that comes across in his blog.
“It’s not meant to be art,” he says, “but to give people a good picture of the area and, at the same time, be composed well. … If I can capture it in a unique way, take something boring and make it somewhat interesting.”
