Cross the Monongahela River from downtown Morgantown, and you'll be in Westover, sometimes derisively referred to as Leftover. I went there for the latest installment of my Wabi-Sabi Streetview project. The photos above and below are both taken from Westover, looking back towards town, but the one above was shot from a hilltop. The idea that you can cast a place in a completely different light depending on your vantage point fascinates me.

This project is in the beginning stages and may change over time. Several projects around the country provide good inspiration. One very interesting collaborative take on neighborhood photography is the Portland Grid Project, where a group of photographers individually made pictures in a particular neighborhood and grouped them together. I love the idea of showing one place from multiple perspectives. 

The Oakland Neighborhood Project features portraits of the people who make their homes in the 164 neighborhoods within Oakland, California. In another Portland-based effort, Hello Neighbor, photographer Julie Keefe works with school kids to photograph and interview their neighbors and turn the results into posters that serve as reminders to take the time to really notice people. Finally, in an ongoing and wide-sweeping project, artist Paelo Cirio pasted images taken from Google Street View onto walls or buildings in 130 sites in approximately 22 cities where the original street view photos were taken, and then made his own photos of those pasted images in context. Meta.

This church is one of the first things you see as you enter Westover; so unique and unexpected, with its well-kept gold turret.

Not sure exactly what's on offer at the Office Shoppers Paradise, but next door to it is Bubba's Garage, which is packed with interesting finds.

A new apartment building atop the hill overlooks the main drag through Granville, not far from a coal mine and an industrial loading zone.

What is it about reflections? I spent quite a while with these trucks and this huge puddle.

I love that these regal lions guard a humble metal garage.

In the short term, my goal is to wabi-sabi streetview all the Morgantown neighborhoods. We'll see where it goes from there.