JerCom Photo

Originally this page only chronicled the 1970s through black-and-white photography, but it's since expanded to include current photographs by Jeremy Butler.

More at jercomphoto.com . I built a darkroom in my parents' laundry room in 1970s (when I was 16) and began capturing black-and-white photographs for the rest of the decade. Initially, the images on this site were culled from the thousands I shot during that decade. However, in the 2010s I rediscovered my love for photography and began shooting photos and processing them in Adobe Lightroom--much less smelly than my old laundry-room darkroom.

07/08/2026

Today on the JerCom Photo (email) Newsletter is Black-and-White Wednesday: "A Social Studies Classroom, Featuring a Mormon Speaker, 1971".

Our social-studies teacher at Central High School (Phoenix), Dr. (!) Jack Rickard, was a student favorite—myself included. He often brought speakers into our class from a variety of perspectives.

The young man in the tie in this photograph came to speak to us about Mormonism. (At least, this is how I remember it some 55 years later. I can’t imagine any of us students attending class in a tie! Also lost to the mists of time is the name of the woman in the foreground.)

07/05/2026

New Dimensions Worship Center: latest post to the JerCom Photo (email) newsletter. From the series, "The Churches of Tuscaloosa County, At Night."

07/01/2026

The Outhouses of the Grand Canyon’s North Rim, 1972; North Rim, Grand Canyon, Ariz., summer 1972.

I wonder if these outhouses survived the terrible Dragon Bravo Fire (summer 2025) at the North Rim. As teenagers, we always preferred to camp there because it was less crowded than the South Rim and considerably cooler.

06/30/2026

When the Tuscaloosa News Lost Its Letters: today's post to the JerCom Photo (email) Newsletter.

By 2024, The Tuscaloosa News had ceased using its printing press in this building. And it had moved its offices to 2328 Fourth St, Tuscaloosa. The building was razed and, as of this writing, a multi-purpose building is being constructed on this site by the City to house a variety of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) and arts initiatives—under the name, The Saban Center.

The letters on the building’s exterior were preserved when they were removed and, as I recall, they were later sold.

Tuscaloosa, Ala.; November 17, 2024 at 11:41:08 AM.

06/28/2026

Refuge Apostolic Church of God, Inc: From the series, "The Churches of Tuscaloosa County, At Night."

Latest post to the JerCom Photo (email) newsletter.

2104 26th Ave., Tuscaloosa, Ala.; February 25, 2025 at 8:49:01 PM.

06/24/2026

A Young Man and his Accordion, 1971. Black-and-White Wednesday: Captured at the annual North Dakota picnic in Phoenix.

The Bandshell at Encanto Park hosted gatherings of “snowbirds” from North Dakota during the winter in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1971, they hired my 17-year-old friend Ken to provide musical entertainment.

Latest post to the JerCom Photo (email) Newsletter.

06/23/2026

"The Box Elder Wept": latest offering from the JerCom Photo (email) Newsletter.

There was so much rain this past week that it seemed like the trees themselves were weeping.

Shot on the banks of the Black Warrior River, Tuscaloosa, Ala., June 16, 2026 at 11:03:53 AM.

06/21/2026

Hope City Church, from the series, "The Churches of Tuscaloosa County, At Night", on the JerCom Photo (email) Newsletter.

Hope City Church, 3800 University Blvd E, Tuscaloosa, Ala.; April 6, 2026 at 8:20:49 PM.

06/18/2026

"Forging," Sunheart Metal Works, posted to the JerCom Photo (email) Newsletter.

When blacksmith Steve Davis forges a piece of metal, he must first heat it in a forge (glowing orange in the background of the attached photo) and then hammer it into the desired shape. In this instance, he’s using a hammer and a large block of wood to shape the metal.

802 Nick’s Kids Avenue (formerly known as 28th Avenue), Northport, Ala., June 16, 2026 at 9:28:00 AM.

06/17/2026

Parking-lot Pencil Provocation, 1979. Black-and-White Wednesday on the JerCom Photo (email) Newsletter.

Northwestern University undergraduates in the parking lot of the Speech Annex, which no longer exists.

Liz pretends to attack Maria with a pencil. Maria is non-plussed. She doesn’t even drop her copy of Jump Cut, No. 19 (December 1978).

What do I love about this pic?

1. The way that Liz's hand with the pencil perfectly fits in the space between a tree and a building (Northwestern University's Norris Center?)

2. The fact that the pic documents a space that no longer exists

3. Jump Cut, no. 19! ( Julia Lesage)

4. The 1970s cars, almost all of which were backed into their parking spaces. Why? For a Le Mans style start?

5. And most of all: Maria's non-plussed expression and how it calmly and perfectly contrasts with Liz's.

Address

802 Nick’s Kids Avenue
Northport, AL
35476

Website

https://bw1970s.com/, https://jercomphoto.com/, https://jercomphoto.substack.com/

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