Common Things in CLT

“A champion is someone who gets up when he can’t.” – Jack Dempsey

I have lived in Charlotte, North Carolina for the last 13 years. My family and I moved here from Louisville, KY. We moved to Louisville in 2005 after we got married for me to go to school. After I finished school, we looked into several options for us to live in. We wanted to live close to family, and my dad’s side lives in Charlotte. We also saw that Charlotte has plenty of jobs, and it was a good-sized city too. We have planted roots here, and I don’t see us going anywhere anytime soon. Our area has changed dramatically in the last few years. Our neighborhood for the longest time was considered a lower-income neighborhood. Today, it’s different. More people want to move into our neighborhood. It is close to Uptown. It is near some of the happening spots. For example, if I wanted to go out for coffee, I had to drive for at least 10 minutes. Today, I have at least 3 coffee shops within a 10-minute walk at the most. A lot has changed in the last few years, but what hasn’t changed is my love for the memories we have made in Charlotte.

Something that is a common sight in Charlotte is older homes being torn down. When someone buys property in Charlotte, they usually are not after the house. They want the land the house sits on top of. Many single-home properties end up being subdivided into 2 or more homes on the same lot. Homes and buildings are being torn down all over the city. I captured these photos last July. A home across the street from us was torn down. This moment frozen in time in this photo shows the devastating part of change. We see people’s homes being torn down, and the structure that helps memories is lost. Change is good, but don’t forget what change costs. I captured these photos as a reminder of what was there before. Photography is not only you capturing good memories, but also bad ones as well.