It has been years since I truly visited the city of my birth. I decided to take a day for myself, camera in hand and slowly digest what has become of places in Birmingham, Alabama long ago familiar to me as I captured the essence of the city in photographs. So much has changed, yet stayed the same. The old buildings still exist though they house new businesses. The parks are there still giving refuge to homeless and business men alike yet there are recent memorials in some now marking events from years past. There is a new park named Railroad Park in the heart of the city that thrives with visitors from all lifestyles while sporting a large lake teaming with wildlife and edged in beautiful flowers. You can almost feel the heartbeat of the city as it struggles to regain the beauty and energy it once had in years gone by. For me the day was a trip down memory lane and a reaching out to the city I once called home.