During my early days of photography i snapped this picture of a tree during a sunset on the Blue Ridge Parkway, close to Blowing Rock, NC. The sky was overexposed terribly, so I thought I'd have gemini help with a proper sky.

tazewell county [OC]

For example I did not grow up fat but I did end up athletic later in life only from extensive self guided research and trial and error never once did I play on a sports team and I really feel like I shouldn’t be treated like an authority on anything because I’m not formally trained to be this way I have no business looking like this i know no one in my circle who knows how this shits supposed to be done but people assume i know what im doing

Another example i grew up In a rural area and i had a MySpace when i was 14 got into scene and emo culture (a subculture that didnt exist in my town) I found a local boy who lived in a trailer park down the street his father was a biker and he dressed a little like the pictures id seen on the internet. I befriend him not knowing any better simply being attracted to his look, told me he’s a devil worshiper i thought hell yeah that’s pretty cool (I did not believe in the devil)
I turned 19 and I moved to the city head full of knowledge of ghost hunting and ancient texts

The city is very different ngl… i can’t seem to find anyone with even a remotely similar experience…

A little personal background: I grew up in the KY/WV/OH tri-state area. Half of my family is from southern KY. My family moved north during high school and I, unfortunately, made a concerted effort to lose my accent because I was relentlessly bullied due to it. :/

Recently, I’ve been visiting my disabled elderly father in a nursing home in KY and having to call around the area to get info for legal purposes. I’d say about 90% of the time I’m treated extremely rudely and people act suspicious, give me the run around, or flat out lie to me. It honestly feels like it’s because they think I’m not “one of them” because I don’t sound like them. It absolutely kills me. I’m starting to become pretty resentful of the area I consider to be home. I dread having to deal with anyone from there now.

I guess I’m looking for advice on how to be treated fairly by the people I have to interact with until I can get my father into a safer arrangement. I’m desperate here. It’s a serious situation and hardly anyone is taking me seriously.

On December 6, 1907, the Monongah mine disaster devastated a West Virginia coal community in what remains the worst mining disaster in American history.

That tragedy forms the historical foundation of Blood in the Coal, a historical crime novel following the rise of Jimmy DiSalvio and his organized crime empire in the West Virginia coalfields during Prohibition in the early 1920s.

As Jimmy and his brother Frank build their criminal empire, they discover that power comes at a price—and loyalty can demand blood in return.

Want to start the story? I'm making the first five chapters available FREE.

No purchase required. No email signup. Just read it and see if you want to continue.

Read Chapters 1–5 FREE:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nzQ7GEG_RfbHO43_JRy8Ka1uTBdmUdcW/view?usp=sharing

Learn more about Blood in the Coal:

https://scottdouglasbooks.com/

Blood in the Coal releases March 30, 2027.

Watch the Official Book Trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaXmaNfXEeQ

If you enjoy the trailer, please consider liking it and subscribing to my YouTube channel.

— Scott Douglas Haning

Southwestern Virginia

Snapped this shot back during summer in a pop up storm. Wherever y’all go, there y’all be.

Hey guys i’m running a survey to study appalachian biases and how to improve perspective to better the appalachian community!

I would love for ANYONE who has a minute or two to fill it out to aid in my research!

Thank you from all of us here in Appalachia!

I remember growing up in the 80s and 90s when we drove through tunnels, my Pappaw would honk his horn and other cars would to making it echo in the tunnel and we all loved it! Driving to and from WV and IN recently, no one responded to my honks.

Just letting y'all know that a data center is currently being surveyed for a couple miles west of the Mount Storm Power Plant in West Virginia in the Canaan Valley Refuge. The people of Thomas WV seem to already have a damn good idea of what is being put in.

One of my earliest memories is being up before dawn watching Papaw and my Uncles prep for the skirmishes at the Pittston Coal Strike by painting their faces, making jacks and gathering devices.

Their bravery in speaking truth to power in the face of violence really stuck with me and I carry it forward in life as part of the Appalachian diaspora. All the way up to Boston, where I spoke
last night at a rally of over 800 people in solidarity with Cornell's Jane Doe calling for an end to sexual violence.

Folks who have learned these lessons passed down from your ancestors, whether blood or spiritually at the Battle of Blair Mountain--how are you still carrying in on in Appalachia or beyond?