The Ruff House
Personal projects are never ending battles for the photographer. But dedicating time and effort to shoot for yourself, even when you have bills to pay and mouths to feed, is necessary in order to grow at the job you love doing. Sometimes it takes years to get started on one project and then another may only take a few weeks to shoot but much longer to actually finish the edits.
In this case it was the latter. Philip and Lanier are one of those timeless couples who look like they just stepped out of a daggum movie screen, as if Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed walked right out of The Strand (Marietta locals?). I first met the Philip and Lanier through my brother’s Wife. She told us how much my wife, Mattie, and I would love not only the couple, but their beautiful mid-1800’s farmhouse in the middle, of all places, Smyrna, GA. A farm in the middle of Smyrna, GA? If you’re local to Atlanta you would have thought the last existing farm in Smyrna would have been sold off by the 50’s. In actuality, The Ruff House, among several homes, a seemingly precarious (still drivable) one-way bridge, and various other historic structures in the surrounding area make up Cobb County’s first historic district, The Concord Covered Bridge Historic District. There it was in all of its glory, so much so, it’s where my brother and his wife had their wedding. Once I met the timeless couple and experiencing their home and history the wheels turned and the images I saw popped in my mind before I had the chance to even propose the idea. So I attempted to capture, on both film and digital formats, a piece for their story.
Philip is president and engineer for H.I. Solutions and Lanier is an author. Their home, named the Ruff House, was built in the mid-1800’s and was actually taken by the Union Army during the Civil War and used as an infirmary and campground as it was so close to the railroad. One of few places Sherman didn’t burn down along his trip south. Over the years Philip has collected tons of Civil War artifacts that he has on display in his study. They have about 15 acres of beautiful rolling Georgia hills with a barn containing an amalgamation of sheep, goats, chickens, and one prideful peacock. There’s a garden stocked with a beautiful assortment of efflorescence that keep their residentiary bees busy. Not to mention a fair few lazy cats and their set of loyal pups. Lanier has her own writing shed and printing press located in one of the upper bedrooms where she presses all of the original copies of her books. The amount of potential imagery of their home, timeless style, and humorously sweet relationship is as numerous as the stories the property holds.
Tragically soon after I shot with Philip and Lanier, their house caught fire and the back part of the house was severely damaged; mainly the study, sunroom, and parts of the kitchen. Fortunately though, with careful craftsmanship and a little help from the imagery I shot, the Ivesters were able to restore the rear of the house back to its glory with historical accuracy. The Ruff House, under the care of Philip and Lanier, will prevail to stand the test of time for another 200 years. Check out the full gallery of the Ruff House under my projects. Also, please check out Lanier’s works on her website: lanierivester.com. More on the Concord Covered Bridge Historic District here: concordcoveredbridge.org.
Stairs
